-I 


i 


THE  bOVKHOBOBS 

BY  JOSEPH  ELRINTON 


tihvwy  of  tlve  theological  ^mimvy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

Delavan  L.  Pierson 


:bx7 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/doukhoborstheirhOOelki_0 


C  I)  c   Don  k  1)  0  b  0  r  0 


•      StP  20 

THE 


DOUKHOBORS 


TAetr  History  in  Russia 
Their  Migration  to  Canada 


BY 

JOSEPH  ELKINTON 


Illustrated  with  Numerous  Photographs  of  the 
doukhobors  and  their  surroundings, 
WITH  Portraits  and  Maps. 


FERRIS  &  LEACH,  Publishers 

29-31  North  Seventh  Street 
1903 


Copyright,  1903,  by  Joseph  Elkinton. 


UDeMcatcb 

TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  MY  BELOVED  FRIEND 

JOHN  BELLOWS 

AND      TO      MY  FATHER 

JOSEPH  S.  ELKINTON 


IN  ACKNOM'LEDGMENT  OF  HIS  INVALUABLE 
SERVICES  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE 
DOUKHOBORS 


COKTEOTS. 


PAGB 

Introduction        .....  1 


Book  I.  —  The  Doukhobors  in  Canada. 

CHAPTEB 

I.  — Personal  Experiences  of  the  Author  while 

VISITING  THEIR  COMMUNITIES    .  .  .17 

II.— The  Problem  of  Education  and  Training  .  77 

III.  — The  Doukhobors  as  Homemakers        .  .  98 

IV.  —  Kelations  with  the  Civil  Authorities  111 

Book  II.  —  The  Exodus  from  Russia. 

I.— The  Recent  Persecutions        .  .  .145 

II. —The  Emigration  ....  171 
III.  — The  Canadian  Settlement       .  .  .212 

Book  III.  —  The  Doukhobors  in  Russia. 

I.— National  Religious  Character     .  .  239 

II.— Tradition  and  Early  History  .  .  .242 

III.  — The  Faith  of  the  Doukhobors      .  .  265 

IV.  — The  Raskolniks  and  other  Dissenters  .  286 
v.  — The  Mir  .....  299 
VI.  — The  Government  Officials      .          .  .305 

VII.— Russian  Political  History,  862-1901  .  309 


Index 


329 


ILLUSTEATIOI^S. 

Commissioner  W.  F.  McCreary  and  his  winter  convey- 
ance FOR  TRAVELING  OVER  THE  NORTHWEST  TERRI- 
TORIES,  ARRANGING  FOR    THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE 

DOUKHOBORS  ....  Half-title 

"Grandmother"  Verigin  and  the  Patriarch  Ivan 

Mahortov        ....  Frontispiece 


OPP. 
PAGE 

DouKHOBOR  Costume,  Showing  Prayer  Sash  and  Mar- 
riage Scarp  .  .  .  .  .  1 

Group.  —  Eliza  H.  Varney,  J.  Obed   Smith,  Joseph 

Elkinton        .....  17 

Map  of  the  Doukhobor  Settlements  in  the  North- 
west Territories  .  .  ,  .  .18 

Map  of  the  South  Colony  Doukhobor  Reserve  20 

Frank  Pedley,  Superintendent  of  Immigration, 

Ottawa  .....  28 

Charles  AV.  Spiers,  General  Colonization  Agent  28 

Immigration  Hall,  Winnipeg    .  .  .  .31 

Group  of  Immigrants  in  Yard  of  Immigration  Hall  31 

"  Sunrise  Service  "  .  ....  32 

Crossing  the  Saskatchewan  River  — Petrofka  Ferry  38 

Prairie  Trail  and  Slough,  West  Bank  of  the  Sas- 
katchewan .  .  .  .  .38 

Women  Waiting  to  extend  a  Welcome  to  Arriving 

Guests  .....  39 

A  Typical  House,  with  Sod  Roof        .  .  .39 


lUustrations.  vii 

OPP. 
PAGE 

DoTJKHOBOR  Team  ;  with  the  Mennonite  Reserve  in 

THE  Distance  .....  42 

The  Sherbinin  Homestead       .  .  .  .42 

Ready  for  the  Start,  to  Visit  the  Saskatchewan 

Villages         .....  43 

Village  Scene  at  Eventide     .          .          .  .44 

A  Model  Home        .....  44 

A  Baby  Show    .           .           .          .           .  .45 

Group  of  Chanting  Girls  ....  46 

Sheepskin  Coat  and  Doukhobor  Doll            .  .  46 

"Sweet  Sixteen  "    .....  47 

Baking  Pancakes         .          .          .          .  .47 

yorkton  doukhobors        ....  48 

Blacksmith  Shop                    .          .           .  .48 

Men  Serving  as  Horses      ....  49 

"Grandmother"  Verigin's  Home        .          .  .60 

The  Patriarch  Teacher  and  His  School  .           .  61 

Village  Children  and  Saw  Mill        .           .  .62 

Group  of  Saskatchewan  Doukhobors       .          .  63 

Families  of  Exiles,  Showing  Persian  Rugs  Brought 

BY  Them  from  the  Caucasus       .  .  .64 

Wife  and  Family  of  a  Siberian  Exile     .  .  65 

A  Doukhobor  Family  of  typical  physique  .          .  65 

Barbara  Veeigin  and  her  household      .  .  66 

"Grandmother's"  Surrey        .          .  .  .67 

Arrival  of  Peter  Veeigin  at  Teepenie    .  .  72 


Terpenie  (White  Sand  River),  the  Model  Village  72 


viii  lUmtrations. 

OPP. 
PAGE 

Winter  Scenes  in  the  DorKHOBOR  Villages    .  .  73 

Portrait  of  Eliza  H.  Varney        ...  82 

Portrait  of  Nellie  Baker       .  .  .  .83 

Nellie  Baker's  Classes      ....  84 

Some  of  Nellie  Baker's  Pupils  .  .  .85 

Women  working  in  the  fields  preparing  for  wheat 

sowing  .....  101 

Map  of  the  Doukhobor  Settlements  in  the  Russian 

Empire      .  .  .  .  .  .145 

The  first  shipload  of    Doukhobors    arriving  at 

Halifax  .....  188 

Hon.  James  A.  Smart,  Deputy  Minister  of  the  Interior  191 

Deck  Scenes  on  the  Lake  Superior        .  .  .201 

Doukhobors  assembled  to  bid  farewell  to  William 

Bellows         .....  210 

Doukhobor  Women  drawing  plough    .  .  .216 

First  houses  built  by  the  Doukhobors,  Yobkton 

Colony  .....  218 

Interior  view  of  one  of  the  log  houses  erected  by 
the  Canadian  Government,  and  used  by  the 
Doukhobors  for  temporary  shelter       .  .  219 

Outside  Bake-Ovens.  —  the  first  structures  erected 
BY  the  Doukhobors  upon  their  arrival  at  their 
settlements    .....  220 

Doukhobor  Ferries      .  .  .  .  .222 

Helpers  of  the  Doukhobors.  — Sergius  Tolstoi,  Anna 
de  Carousa,  Leopold  Soulerjitzky,  Sasha  Satz, 
Prince  D.  A.  Hilkov,  William  F.  McCreary, 
Maria  Robitz  ....  226 

Joseph  James  Neave,  John  Bellows,  Hermann  Fast  297 

SCHAMYL,  THE  CIRCASSIAN  PrOPHET-ChIEF,  1797-1871         .  316 


INTRODUCTION 


In  his  admirable  history  of  "  The  Dutch  and 
Quaker  Colonies  in  America/^  John  Fiske  reviews 
the  migrations  during  the  past  three  centuries  of  re- 
ligious sects  from  the  continent  of  Europe  to  Amer- 
ica. Had  his  book  been  withheld  until  a  year  later 
it  might  have  recorded  the  arrival  upon  our  shores 
of  another  persecuted  people,  in  some  respects  the 
most  remarkable  of  them  all.  Their  fearful  suffer- 
ings in  Russia  and  Transcaucasia  remind  us  of  those 
endured  by  the  Huguenots  and  Waldenses  in  France 
during  the  Seventeenth  Century. 

Many  dissenters  from  the  Russian  Orthodox 
Church  have  been  exiled  to  the  Caucasus  and  Si- 
beria within  the  past  century  because  of  their  relig- 
ious views.  Among  these  the  Doukhobors,  or  Spirit- 
Wrestlers,  claim  the  special  interest  and  sympathy 
of  all  who  believe  in  the  principle  of  non-resistance. 

In  this  connection  the  words  of  Fiske,  in  his  in- 
troduction to  the  chapter  on  "  Penn's  Holy  Experi- 
ment,'' apply  most  appropriately:  "  A  careful  study 
of  religious  persecution  shows  us  that  sometimes 
politics,  and  sometimes  religion,  have  been  most  ac- 
tively concerned  in  it.  The  persecution  of  the  Chris- 
tians by  the  Roman  emperors  was  chiefly  political, 
because  Christianity  asserted  a  dominion  over  men 
paramount  to  that  of  the  Emperor;  while  '  Let  us 


2 


IXTBODUCTlOrv 


get  rid  of  the  unclean  thing  lest  we  be  cursed  for  its 
sake  '  has  been  the  feeling  which  has  mostly  sus- 
tained persecution." 

"  In  Christianity  the  separation  of  the  Church 
from  the  State  took  its  rise;  and  while  religion  was 
made  an  affair  of  mankind,  not  of  localities  or  tribes, 
the  importance  of  the  individual  has  greatly  in- 
creased. The  moment  we  cease  to  regard  religious 
truth  as  a  rigid  body  of  formulas,  imparted  to  man- 
kind once  for  all  and  incapable  of  further  interpreta- 
tion or  expansion;  the  moment  we  come  to  look  upon 
religion  as  a  part  of  the  soul's  development,  under 
the  immediate  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God;  the 
moment  we  concede  to  individual  judgment  some 
weight  in  determining  what  the  individual  form  of 
religious  expression  shall  be,  that  moment  we  have 
taken  the  first  step  toward  the  conclusion  that  a  dead 
uniformity  of  opinion  in  religious  questions  is  unde- 
sirable. In  the  presence  of  an  Eternal  Reality  which 
confessedly  transcends  our  human  comprehension  in 
many  ways,  we  are  not  entitled  to  frown  or  to  sneer 
at  our  neighbor's  view,  but  if  we  give  it  due  atten- 
tion, we  may  find  in  it  more  or  less  that  is  helpful 
and  uplifting  which  we  have  overlooked." 

Primarily  this  history  of  the  Doukhobors  was  un- 
dertaken as  an  appeal  for  the  Christian  principle  of 
peace, — a  principle  universal  in  its  application,  and 
sorely  needed  by  the  world  to-day.  The  Doukhobors 
at  this  moment  stand  forth  to  the  public  mind  as 
representing  this  -Drinciple.    Indeed,  these  patient 


INTRODUCTION. 


3 


sufferers  have  adopted  for  themselves  the  name  of 
"  The  Christian  Community  of  the  Universal  Broth- 
erhood," based  upon  Christ's  command  to  love  all 
men.  And  this  command  cannot  be  set  aside  as  "  im- 
practicable," when  the  whole  Christian  Church  sus- 
tained it  inviolate  for  more  than  two  centuries.  "  To 
the  physical  violence  of  the  Romans  the  Early 
Christians  opposed  a  strength  of  trust  in  God,  an  in- 
difference to  their  personal  fate,  a  purity  of  life,  a 
love  for  their  persecutors,  and  a  willingness  to  suffer 
always  as  Christians, — not  as  law-breakers, — which 
gave  their  martyr  blood  that  propagating  power 
which  made  it  *  the  seed  of  the  Church.'  Thus  the 
Church,  by  means  of  the  passive  virtues,  won  the 
first  great  victory  for  peace  over  the  world's  greatest 
military  empire,  which  remains  an  unexplained  mir- 
acle, unless  we  admit  that  the  powers  on  which  she 
relied  are  actually  greater  than  those  which  the  em- 
pire employed."* 

If  the  professing  followers  of  Christ  had  only  con- 
tinued such  a  warfare  as  this  during  the  intervening 
centuries,  their  history  would  not  have  been  written 
in  the  blood  of  their  enemies,  neither  would  we  have 
had  to-day  so  incongruous  a  spectacle  as  that  of 
Buddhist  priests  appealing  to  Christian  missionaries 
to  regard  the  teachings  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  when 
He  declared  that  His  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world, 
and  that  His  servants  did  not  fight. 


*  Elbert  Russell. 


4 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  name  Doukhobor  (k  almost  silent,  and  accent 
on  last  syllable)  has  come  to  designate  the  distin- 
guishing characteristic  of  the  people  to  whom  it  was 
originally  given  in  derision. 

This  name  has  followed  these  dissenters  from  the 
Orthodox  Russian  Church  since  1785.  It  was  in- 
tended at  first  to  distinguish  them  from  those  dis- 
senters who  especially  objected  to  the  use  and  wor- 
ship of  icons,  or  images,  and  who  became  known  as 
Tconobors. 

A  Doukhobor  (Spirit-Wrestler)  was  looked  upon 
as  one  who  wrestled  against  the  Holy  Spirit, 
whereas  the  Doukhobors  themselves  turned  it  into 
another  meaning,  and  said  it  conveyed  equally  well 
the  idea  of  wrestling  by  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
not  with  carnal  weapons. 

The  reader  may  notice  that  not  much  space  is 
given  to  the  discussion  of  the  possible  origin  of  this 
interesting  people,  because  nothing  is  known  about 
it  with  suflScient  certainty  to  justify  a  positive  state- 
ment. Several  writers  have  elaborated  various  the- 
ories of  their  origin,  but  none  of  these  have  a  relia- 
ble historic  basis;  and  one  might  as  well  give  the 
credit  to  the  immediate  effect  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
upon  these  untutored  peasants,  as  to  suppose  that 
this  or  the  other  human  influence  must  necessarily 
be  found  to  account  for  the  rapid  spread  of  their  pe- 
culiar religious  opinions  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 


INTRODUCTION. 


5 


The  same  thing  has  occurred  time  and  again  dur- 
ing the  history  of  the  Christian  Church.  The  sud- 
den appearance  of  the  Montanists''^  of  the  second 
century  and  the  Pietists  of  the  seventeenth  century 
are  only  similar  illustrations. 

But  wherever  and  whenever  such  a  people  arise 
they  bring  with  them  the  refreshing  breezes  of  a 
spiritual  atmosphere,  and  protest  with  an  unmis- 
takable emphasis  against  the  deadening  effect  of  out- 
ward ceremonies.  The  deepest  cry  of  our  own  and 
every  age  has  been  for  spiritual  freedom,  and  He 
who  declared  Himself  to  be  "  the  way,  and  the  truth, 
and  the  life  answered  that  cry  when  He  said,  "  God 
is  spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  must  worship 


*  "  The  Montanists  asserted  the  priestly  dignity  of  all  Chris- 
tians, and  consequently  that  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  not 
confined  to  one  order  in  the  church,  or  even  to  one  sex;  and 
they  would  not  allow  that  the  gift  of  prophecy  had  been 
superseded  by  learning  and  an  enlightened  intellect, 

'*  In  opposition  to  the  notion  that  the  bishops  were  the  sole 
successors  of  the  Apostles  they  denied  that  any  who  have  not 
received  the  spirit  of  prophecy  from  the  Holy  Ghost  himself 
can  be  the  successors  of  the  Apostles  or  heirs  to  their  spirit- 
ual power;  and  they  repudiated  the  false  idea  that  holiness 
of  life  is  to  be  looked  for  in  the  clergy  in  another  manner  or 
in  a  higher  degree  than  in  the  laity. 

"  They  made  a  vigorous  stand  also  against  the  spirit  ot 
accommodation  to  the  world  which  was  creeping  over  the 
Church,  and  notwithstanding  the  laws  against  private  assem- 
blies, in  their  meetings  for  fasting  and  prayer  they  disre- 
garded such  prudential  measures  as  might  avert  the  suspicion 
of  the  authorities.  They  even  went  so  far  as  to  condemn  all 
usages  of  civil  and  social  life  which  could  in  any  way  be  traced 
to  a  heathen  origin." — "Early  Church  History,"  Backhouse 
and  Tyler,  pages  97,  98. 


6 


I^'TKUiJL"LT102^. 


Him  in  spirit  and  with  true  spiritual  irisight.''^  as 
also,  ^'  If  the  truth  shall  make  you  free,  then  are  you 
free  indeed." 

The  Donkhobors  are  a  peculiar  people  in  many  re- 
spects, possessed  of  high  Christian  ideals,  but  need- 
ing a  certain  education  to  correlate  these  ideals  with 
those  of  their  present  surroundings.  This  educa- 
tion must  proceed,  however,  on  lines  in  harmony 
with  their  religious  ideals,  as  will  be  discussed  in  the 
chapter  on  The  Problem  of  their  Education  and 
Training.'' 

The  Doukhobors  have  suffered  so  much  for  their 
faith  during  the  past  century  and  a  half  that  they 
seem  to  have  accepted  persecution  as  the  natural  and 
historic  condition  of  their  lives,  which  they  were  des- 
tined always  and  everywhere  to  experience.  They 
have  even  considered  their  sect  to  be  an  elect  gen- 
eration descended  from  the  three  lads  who  were  cast 
into  the  burning  ftirnace  of  Xebuchadnezzar,  and 
surely  they  have  survived  the  fires  of  State  and 
Church  vengeance  remarkably  well,  whatever  may 
have  been  their  faults. 

A  century  ago  many  of  them  were  settled  in  a 
province  of  the  Crimea,  separated  from  the  rest  of 
Russia  by  desert  steppes.  But  this  settlement  was 
ruthlessly  broken  up  alx)Ut  1S4:2,  and  they  were  for- 
cibly transported  to  the  Caucasus,  and  eventually 
scattered  among  Georgians,  Armenians,  Circassians, 


*  T^rentieth  Century  New  Testament. 


INTRODUCTION. 


7 


Tartars,  etc.,  without,  however,  destroying  their  in- 
ternal organization, — an  individual  theocratic  com- 
munity, living  its  own  life  and  paying  tribute  only 
to  the  Czar.  Thus  surrounded,  they  formed  them- 
selves into  a  kingdom  of  peasants,  while  the  weak- 
nesses, corruptions  and  negligence  of  the  Caucasian 
administration  only  strengthened  the  Doukhobors  in 
their  own  opinions. 

The  loftiness  of  their  moral  opinions,  the  founda- 
tion of  which  is  the  negation  of  violence,  their  power 
to  endure,  their  sober  and  laborious  life,  proved  to 
them  a  veritable  "  shield  of  faith  and  gave  them 
the  esteem  of  others. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighties  two  parties  unhappily 
divided  the  ranks  of  their  Brotherhood, — one  willing 
to  compromise  with  the  government  about  military 
service,  while  the  other  grew  still  more  severe  in  its 
regulations.  The  second  was  much  in  the  majority 
(eight  thousand  out  of  a  total  of  twelve  thousand), 
and  this  larger  party  adopted  three  new  principles, 
having,  it  is  true,  connection  with  their  ancient  doc- 
trine, but  which  until  then  had  not  been  completely 
formulated.  These  three  principles  are :  Internation- 
alism, communism  and  vegetarianism. 

The  new  movement  had  been  conducted  largely  by 
Peter  Verigin,  their  youthful  leader,  and  some  other 
men  who  enjoyed  the  unlimited  confidence  of  their 
party.  In  1886  the  Russian  Government  snatched 
these  chiefs  from  the  midst  of  their  brethren  and  de- 
ported them  to  a  place  of  exile  within  the  Arctic 


8 


INTRODUCTION. 


circle.  But  the  seed  which  they  had  sown  could  not 
be  so  easily  removed,  and  the  movement  continued 
to  go  forward.  In  the  course  of  ten  years  the  Rus- 
sian Government  made  a  yet  more  determined  effort 
to  get  rid  of  these  persistent  dissenters.  But  to  de- 
stroy thousands  of  such  stalwart  men  and  women  was 
not  easier  than  to  hide  "  a  city  set  upon  the  moun- 
tain top.''  However,  their  condition  was  pitiable  in 
the  extreme  when  Count  Tolstoi  and  the  Society  of 
Friends  in  England  came  to  their  relief  by  raising 
funds  for  their  emigration  to  Canada,  the  story  of 
which  is  told  more  at  length  in  the  second  part  of  this 
volume. 

The  chapter  on  "  Relations  with  the  Civil  Authori- 
ties "  will  probably  reveal  some  difficulties  with 
which  the  Dominion  government  has  had  to  deal 
that  were  not  generally  known  even  to  those  who 
have  been  interested  in  the  Doukhobors.  That  these 
difficulties  have  shown  the  Brotherhood  in  an  un- 
favorable light  may  be  frankly  admitted,  yet  it  was 
thought  wiser  bravely  to  face  those  truths  which 
could  not,  in  fairness  to  historical  facts,  be  ignored. 

The  shortcomings  revealed  by  the  regrettable 
position  which  a  portion  of  the  Doukhobors  have 
taken  are  manifestly  mental  rather  than  moral,  and 
this  knowledge  should  be  an  additional  incentive  to 
their  friends  to  hasten  the  work  for  their  education. 
It  was  very  apparent  to  the  writer  that  these  long- 
persecuted  peasants  were  going  through  a  critical 
period  of  social  and  civil  adjustment,  and  that  their 


INTRODUCTION. 


9 


attitude  toward  the  civil  authorities,  however  illogi- 
cal at  present,  gave  evidence  of  a  strength  of  pur- 
pose which  promised  good  citizenship  when  once  they 
became  enlightened  in  regard  to  their  privileges 
under  that  government. 

It  has  been  my  desire  to  point  out  what  these  mar- 
tyrs for  a  principle  have  stood  for  through  a  cen-^ 
tury  of  persecution,  and  what  I  am  sure  they  still 
wish  to  stand  for,  however  much  their  ignorance  and 
fanaticism  may  have  exposed  them  to  misunder- 
standing. Acknowledging  that  we  are  all  human 
and  that  the  beam  of  self-complacency  might  well  be 
removed  from  our  own  eye  before  we  aspire  to 
take  the  mote  of  ignorance  from  that  of  our  brother, 
I  would  frankly  confess  to  what  these  untutored  men 
and  women  have  taught  me: 

First,  that  no  outward  disadvantage  can  prevent 
the  truest  affection  from  revealing  the  universal 
Fatherhood  of  God,  and  from  manifesting  the  mean- 
ing of  that  great  commandment,  "  That  ye  love  one 
another,  even  as  I  have  loved  you  "  ; 

Second,  that  the  essential  things  of  life  are  very 
few  and  simple,  and  that  just  so  far  as  we  seek  to 
minister  to  these  fundamental  necessities  we  secure 
both  our  own  and  our  brother's  happiness; 

Last,  but  not  least,  that  divine  truth  is  frequently 
so  associated  with  human  error,  even  in  the  most  de- 
vout minds,  that  we  shall  always  need  to  separate 


10 


INTRODUCTION. 


and  to  cherish  the  spiritual  purpose  and  ideal,  apart 
from  its  expression,  which  is  so  often  overlaid  with 
useless  forms  and  traditions. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

P.  Birukov,  a  Russian  sympathizer,  has  studied 
the  Doukliobors  carefully,  and  added  the  latest  valu- 
able contribution  to  their  history,  Tolstoi  et  les 
Doukhobors,"  translated  by  J.  W.  Bienstock  into  the 
French).  I  would  express  my  obligation  to  him  for 
much  that  is  interesting  and  helpful  in  our  common 
effort  to  educate  this  worthy,  though  peculiar,  peo- 
ple, and  to  my  friend  Jane  W.  Bartlett  for  giving 
me  access  through  the  French  to  his  compilation  of 
facts  and  suggestions. 

In  like  manner  I  am  indebted  to  V.  Tchertkov 
for  his  kindness  in  fonvarding  T.  Abramov's  transla- 
tion of  Orest  ^^"ovitsky's  History  of  the  Doukho- 
bors,"— the  most  reliable  work  on  the  subject  for 
over  sixty  years, — originally  published  in  the  Rus- 
sian about  1832;  as  also  for  the  use  I  have  made  of 
his  "  Christian  Martyrdom  in  Russia  (1897).  This 
book  was  written  at  the  time  of  their  most  severe 
persecutions,  and  probably  did  much  to  arouse  the 
interest  of  the  English-speaking  public  to  assist  in 
the  escape  of  the  Doukhobors  from  their  persecu- 
tors in  the  Caucasus. 

To  Aylmer  Maude  I  would  likewise  express  my  ob- 
ligation for  the  use  of  his  chapter  on     The  Douk- 


INTEODUCTION. 


11 


hobors  "  in  "  Tolstoi  and  His  Problems/'  and  to  Jo- 
seph Barcroft  for  his  admirable  sketch  of  the  Douk- 
hobors  in  The  Friends^  Quarterly  Examiner,  Fourth 
month,  1900,  as  also  to  John  Ashworth,  of  Manches- 
ter, England.  My  friend  William  Bellows  kindly 
gave  me  the  use  of  some  of  his  photographs,  taken 
when  with  the  Doukhobors  about  the  time  they  were 
first  settling  in  America;  and  his  late  beloved  father 
contributed  much  information  which  had  been  gath- 
ered from  the  State  archives  in  St.  Petersburg,  and 
in  many  ways  assisted  me.  It  was  his  self-sacrificing 
and  sympathetic  efforts  which  first  introduced  me  to 
the  needs  of  the  Doukhobors.  The  manuscripts  and 
other  collections  of  my  father  have  also  been  help- 
fully placed  at  my  disposal. 

When  this  labor  of  love  was  begun,  more  than  two 
years  ago,  without  any  literature  or  written  records 
of  the  Doukhobors  to  guide  me,  it  truly  seemed  like 
making  ^'  bricks  without  straw,"  but  as  these  bricks 
have  been  twice  "  sun-burnt  "  by  the  rays  of  love  and 
persistent  effort,  they  are  offered  for  what  purpose 
they  may  serve. 

It  was  my  hope  to  meet  or  communicate  with  their 
leader,  Peter  Verigin,  as  T  could  not  read  his  pub- 
lished letters,  some  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  in 
number,  in  the  Russian.  Thus  I  wrote  to  him  in 
1900,  he  being  then  in  Siberian  exile;  but  such  is  the 
censorship  of  the  mail  in  that  land  that  his  reply  had 
to  come  from  Canada.  I  had  hoped  to  hear  directly 
from  him  since  his  arrival  in  America,  and  the  pubH- 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 


cation  of  this  volume  has  been  delayed  a  few  weeks 
in  the  hope  that  I  might  be  able  to  share  his  opin- 
ions with  mj  readers.  His  mother  writes,  af- 
ter receiving  information  about  his  arrival  in  Eng- 
land, en  route  to  America:  "  From  such  a  joy  I  for- 
got about  all  my  suffering  and  old  age.  I  thank  God 
for  His  mercy,  and  as  after  a  long  and  stormy  night, 
which  burdened  my  soul  for  over  fifteen  years,  now 
I  am  waiting  for  the  bright  and  joyful  sunrise,  which 
will  give  warmth  to  my  soul  and  heart-delight;  the 
break  of  day  has  shown  itself,  and  the  light  is  not  far. 
I  am  waiting  with  impatience  for  that  day  in  which 
I  shall  see  my  son.  Even  now  it  is  in  my  mind,  as 
though  I  were  realizing  my  meeting  with  him." 

The  historical  chapters  on  the  Russian  nation  were 
added  to  supply  a  background  to  the  picture  of  the 
dissenting  peasantry  of  that  country — of  which  the 
Doukhobors  are  a  small  though  important  part. 

The  reader  will  have  a  better  understanding 
of  the  recent  fanatical  outbreaks  by  taking  this 
glimpse  at  the  past.  For  instance,  the  present  com- 
munal life  of  the  Doukhobors  is  but  an  unconscious 
inheritance  from  the  mediaeval  city  guild,  and  the 
folkmote  of  later  date.  The  Council  of  Florence 
once  issued  a  manifesto  expressing  exactly  the  same 
spirit  as  that  which  the  Doukhobors  in  Canada  ex- 
pressed to  me  repeatedly,  viz. :  "  Xo  work  shall  be 
done  in  the  Commune  but  what  is  conceived  in  re- 
sponse to  the  grand  heart  of  the  Commune,  made  up 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


of  the  hearts  of  all  the  citizens — united  in  one  com- 
mon mind.^^ 

Such  standard  works  as  Wallace's  "  Kussia and 
Edmund  Noble's  Russia  and  the  Eussians/'  with 
Kovalevsky's  ^'  Russian  Political  Institutions/'  have 
been  consulted,  as  also  Russia  in  the  Nineteenth 
Century,"  "  Alexander  I."  and  "  Alexander  III." 

The  influence  of  the  Society  of  Friends  with  Al- 
exander 1.  is  told  by  Jane  Benson  in  her  pleasing 
narrative,  ^'  Quaker  Pioneers  in  Russia,"  Headley 
Brothers,  London. 

All  the  profits  from  the  sale  of  this  volume  will 
go  toward  supporting  a  school  among  the  Doukho- 
bors  in  Canada.  If  the  reader  can  reap  any  part 
of  the  benefit  which  has  come  to  me  in  the  writing 
of  these  pages,  it  will  be  some  compensation  for  the 
difficulties  that  have  unavoidably  delayed  their  pub- 
lication. 

J.  E. 

Media,  Pennsylvania, 

Second  month,  1903. 


(1) 


(1)  Joseph  Elkinton.  (2)  Eliza  H.  Variiey. 

(3)  J.  Obed  Smith,  C'oinniissioner  of  Immigration. 


CHAPTEK  I. 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES  OF  THE  AUTHOR  WHILE 
VISITING  THEIR  COMMUNITIES. 

The  untiring  devotion  of  my  father,  Joseph  S. 
Elkinton,  to  these  Russian  peasants,  has  stimulated 
my  interest  in  them  since  their  arrival  in  America. 
During  the  summer  of  1902  I  visited  several  of  their 
villages  in  the  Prince  Albert  and  Yorkton  colonies, 
and  came  to  know  the  people  and  their  surroundings 
quite  intimately.  One  can  scarcely  imagine  a  more 
novel  and  interesting  experience,  or  one  more  likely 
to  expand  the  sympathies,  than  this  trip  af- 
forded. The  warm,  personal  interest  in  these  peo- 
ple which  has  been  awakened  in  me  by  actual  con- 
tact with  them  I  would  be  glad  to  communicate  to 
others,  and  for  this  reason  I  make  my  narrative  a 
closely  personal  one,  hoping  that  my  readers  may 
feel,  in  some  degree,  as  if  they  had  traveled  with  me 
to  the  homes  of  these  Doukhobors,  had  shared  with 
me  their  truly  oriental  hospitality,  and  had  felt,  as 
I  did,  their  truly  Christian  kindness  of  heart. 

Much  has  been  published  of  late  that  greatly  mis- 
represents the  majority  of  their  communities.  Sev- 
eral hundred  of  the  Yorkton  colonists,  who  number 
5,500  in  all,  have  been  deluded  by  a  religious  fanatic, 
— not  Originally  of  their  communion, — ^who  has  posed 
as  a  prophet,  and  has  taught  that  the  use  of  animals 


18 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  CANADA. 


as  beasts  of  burden  is  unscriptural,  and  that  Jesus 
would  soon  come  again  in  person. 

As  there  were  only  285  cows,  120  horses  and  95 
sheep  liberated  by  the  Doukhobors,  and  sold  by  gov- 
ernment agents  to  prevent  irresponsible  persons  from 
capturing  them,  it  is  evident  that  no  considerable 
part  of  the  forty-seven  villages  near  Yorkton  were 
involved  in  this  craze.  Each  village  has  a  hundred 
or  more  cattle;  and  the  Doukhobors  bought  back  all 
these  liberated  animals  at  the  sale. 

The  pilgrimage  was  a  more  serious  affair,  and  was 
happily  brought  to  an  end  by  the  government  offi- 
cials before  there  were  many  fatalities  from  expos- 
ure. Several  hundred  men,  women  and  children 
marched  thirty  or  forty  miles  to  Yorkton  "  in  search 
of  Jesus.''  The  women  and  children  were  detained 
by  the  authorities  at  that  place,  being  housed  and 
fed  by  the  English-speaking  residents,  while  the  men 
went  on  to  Minnedosa,  some  150  miles  toward  Win- 
nipeg. Here  they  were  put  upon  a  special  train  by 
the  Superintendent  of  Immigration,  Frank  Pedley, 
and  Colonization  Agent  Charles  Spiers,  taken  back 
to  Yorkton,  and  so  returned  to  their  homes. 

The  sixteen  hundred  Saskatchewan  Doukhobors 
have  taken  no  part  whatever  in  these  foolish  acts,  and 
the  large  majority  of  those  about  Yorkton  very  much 
disapproved  of  them.  The  newspaper  press  has,  by 
its  exaggerated  accounts  of  these  matters  and  mis- 
leading comments  thereon,  done  great  injustice  to 
the  Universal  Brotherhood.    Probably  one  of  the 


Doukhobor  Settlements  in  the  Northwest  Territories. 


PEBSOXAL  EXPERIEIfCES. 


19 


most  accurate  of  these  reports  appeared  in  The  (IN'ew 
York)  World  of  Eleventh  month  9th,  1902,  and  is 
given  in  full  as  a  fair  statement  of  this  unusual  pil- 
grimage. 

ox  THE  TRAMP  \VITH  THE  DOUKHOBORS. 

"  The  strange  outbreak  of  religious  mania  among 
the  Doukhobors  of  the  Xorthwest  Territories  of 
Canada  has  aroused  widespread  interest,  not  merely 
in  the  Dominion,  but  throughout  America.  People 
everywhere  are  talking  of  these  *  Spirit-Wrestlers,' 
as  they  call  themselves;  these  men  who  will  not  fight, 
"will  not  work  nor  use  horses  nor  cattle,  who  are  strict 
vegetarians,  and  who  follow  to  their  farthest  limit 
the  logical  conclusions  of  their  beliefs.  Six  hundred 
men  and  boys  have  been  marching  through  Manitoba, 
exposed  to  all  the  inclemency  of  the  winter  season, 
sleeping  on  the  snow-covered  prairie,  with  no  other 
roof  than  the  sky,  with  insufficient  clothing,  wholly 
dependent  for  their  food  on  the  charity  of  the  resi- 
dents. 

"  They  were  looking  for  the  second  coming  of  the 
Saviour.  Jesus  is  to  reveal  Himself  to  them,  they 
believe;  is  to  be  reincarnated,  to  meet  them  on  the 
snow-mantled  prairie  and  lead  them  forth  to  evan- 
gelize the  world.  He  was  to  have  met  them  at  Mill- 
wood, according  to  their  avowed  expectation — a 
pretty  little  village,  perched  on  the  steep  banks  of  the 
mighty  Assiniboine — but  though  He  came  not,  their 
faith  did  not  falter.    He  simply  tarried  to  try  them. 


20 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  CANADA. 


Xow  they  are  sure  He  will  appear  in  Winnipeg,  the 
capital  city  of  Manitoba,  which  they  expected  to 
reach  by  the  15th. 

^*  The  Doukhobors  live  in  communities.  They 
hold  property  in  common.  Tracts  of  land  have  been 
reserved  for  them  by  the  Dominion  Government. 
Some  of  these  communities  are  located  north  of 
Yorkton,  and  others  near  Rosthern  and  Prince  Al- 
bert, in  the  Xorthvrest  Territories.  Smaller  colonies 
are  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Swan  River,  in 
Manitoba.  Three  months  ago  a  religious  agitation 
broke  out  among  the  Yorkton  and  Swan  River  col- 
onies. They  refused  to  work  their  horses,  or  to  milk 
their  cows,  turning  them  loose  on  the  prairie.  They 
refused  to  wear  anything  that  had  an  animal  origin; 
they  discarded  their  leather  boots  and  wore  rubbers. 
They  would  not  eat  butter,  eggs,  or  indeed  any  arti- 
cle of  food  connected  however  remotely  with  an  an- 
imal. 

To  the  number  of  1,700  ( I)  men,  women  and 
children  they  marched  into  Yorkton,  bent  on  a  pil- 
grimage to  evangelize  mankind.  They  were  met  by 
the  Dominion  immigration  officials,  and  the  women 
and  children,  after  some  little  resistance,  were  com- 
pelled to  accept  shelter  and  food.  The  men,  to  the 
number  of  six  hundred,  marched  away  to  the  East, 
leaving  comfortable  homes,  stocked  with  food  for  two 
or  three  years,  and  wives  and  children,  to  wander, 
they  knew  not  where,  till  they  should  meet  the  Lord. 


uou 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


21 


"  This  pilgrimage  naturally  evoked  widespread  in- 
terest in  all  classes  of  people,  and,  to  gather  some  in- 
formation regarding  the  motives,  intentions  and  be- 
liefs of  the  Doukhobors,  I  went  up  to  meet  them.  I 
overtook  them  at  Binscarth,  a  little  village  on  the 
northwest  branch  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Kailway, 
about  two  hundred  miles  from  Winnipeg.  They 
came  straggling  into  the  town  in  a  procession  two 
miles  long.  Picturesque  figures  they  were,  mostly 
clad  in  blue,  and  with  gaudily-colored  scarfs.  The 
wide,  flaring  skirts  of  their  coats  were  kilted  behind. 
Though  the  snow  lay  three  inches  deep  on  the 
ground,  fully  a  score  were  barefoot.  More  than  dou- 
ble that  number  were  hatless. 

"  In  front  strode  a  majestic  figure,  black  as  Boan- 
erges, and  with  a  voice  like  a  bull  of  Bashan.  He  was 
barefoot.  On  his  head  was  a  brilliant  red  handker- 
chief, and  his  body  was  clothed  in  a  long,  dusty  white 
felt  mantle,  reaching  almost  to  his  feet.  He  strode 
along  at  the  head  of  the  procession.  Suddenly  his 
face  began  to  work,  his  eyes  to  roll  and  his  hands  to 
twitch,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  began  to  jump  in 
the  air,  clutching  with  his  hands  and  shrieking  aloud 
in  Russian: 

"  '  I  see  him !  I  see  Jesus !  He  is  coming !  He  is 
here  now,  my  brothers !   You  will  see  Him  soon !  ' 

"  The  long  cortege  stood  stone  still.  Straining 
their  eyes  to  catch  the  beatific  vision,  they  talked  to 
each  other  a  while,  during  which  their  leader  calmed 
down  to  a  state  of  almost  torpor,  from  which  he, 


22 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IN  CANADA. 


without  a  moment's  warning,  aroused  himself  to  an- 
other religious  frenzy. 

"  The  Binscarth  people  gave  them  food — dry  oat- 
meal, which  they  poured  in  little  heaps  on  blankets, 
half  a  dozen  pilgrims  helping  themselves  from  each 
heap.  The  meal  was  preceded  by  their  favorite 
chant  from  the  8th  chapter  of  Eomans,  and  by  the 
repetition  in  unison  of  prayer.  Then  the  pilgrims 
sat  in  parallel  lines  and  ate  oatmeal  dry  from  the 
sack.  This,  with  bread,  apples  and  the  dried  rose- 
buds picked  from  the  prairie  rosebushes,  formed  their 
menu. 

After  the  meal,  which  lasted  about  an  hour,  they 
repaired  to  the  back  yards  of  the  residences,  and  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  pumps  were  worked  without 
cessation  to  satisfy  their  thirst.  An  hour  afterward 
the  procession  was  formed,  and  the  eastward  journey 
resumed. 

"  I  walked  with  them  for  the  next  eleven  miles, 
conversing  with  different  members  of  the  pilgrim 
army.  Knowing  no  Russian,  I  had  perforce  to  talk 
only  to  those  who  could  speak  English.  They  do  not 
themselves  admit  that  they  have  any  leaders.  As  we 
talked,  a  crowd  pressed  around  us,  eager  to  hear  the 
discussion.  My  questions  were  translated  into  Rus- 
sian for  the  benefit  of  the  pilgrims  not  speaking  Eng- 
lish, and  before  Yassili  Konkin,  who  acted  the  part 
of  interpreter,  replied,  the  answer  was  often  the  sub- 
ject of  some  minutes'  argument  and  deliberation. 

"  I  introduced  myself  as  one  who  desired  to  know 


PEESOT^^AL  EXPERIENCES. 


23 


the  reason  of  their  wandering  at  this  inclement  sea- 
son, in  order  that  I  might  explain  to  all  who  read 
newspapers  the  motives  prompting  their  pilgrimage. 
They  all  expressed  their  pleasure  at  seeing  me,  rais- 
ing their  hats,  such  of  them  as  use  them,  with  the 
courtesy  innate  to  the  Russians.  They  said  they 
were  glad  to  explain  their  beliefs  to  any  one,  much 
more  to  one  ^  who  had  many  mouths ' — indicat- 
ing their  appreciation,  I  supposed,  of  the  power  of 
the  press. 

"  We  walked  along  in  silence  for  a  while,  until  at 
last  Konkin  said : 

"  '  We  go  to  tell  the  peoples ;  is  that  not  good,  yes  ? 
What  for  Jesus  come  first  time  ?  To  live  good  life, 
to  teach  peoples  how  to  live.  We  try  live  like  He 
lives — ^go  to  the  peoples  and  teach  them,  and  tell 
them  He  comes.' 

"  '  But  why  did  you  start  at  the  beginning  of  the 
winter  ?  Why  not  wait  till  next  spring  ?  Then  it  will 
be  warm  and  sunny.  Now,  if  you  go  on  and  sleep  on 
the  snow,  many  of  you  must  die.' 

"  *  Jesus  Christ,  He  say  people  must  think  of  Jesus 
to-day.  To-morrow  God  will  see.  He  make  cold 
warm.  If  not.  He  make  us  strong  to  bear  cold.  If 
we  die,  we  see  Him  soon.' 

"  ^  But  others  of  your  people,  Yassili,  do  not  think 
as  you  do.  They  think  you  very  foolish  in  this  mat- 
ter.' 

"  '  Yes,  that  is  so,'  replied  Konkin.  '  But  he  see 
the  light  soon.    In  old  days  people  think  Jesus  fool- 


24 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


ish.  They  laugh  at  Him,  yes;  they  nailed  Him  to 
cross,  and  He  die,  and  for  long  time  men  laugh  and 
say,  "  How  foolish !  Him  fool.''  Same  way  apostles. 
Peoples  call  them  all  fool,  and  none  believe  them. 
Some  day,  may  be  after  we  die,  people  say,  Douk- 
hobor  right,''  and  they  believe  ns.  May  be  we  no 
see  Jesus  yet;  no,  but  we  tell  the  peoples,  and  we 
see  Him  when  we  die.  More  soon  we  dies  more  soon 
we  see  Him. 

"  *  God  is  necessary,  but  government — no.  We 
wait  till  Jesus  comes,  then  He  take  the  bad  people  off 
the  ground.  When  He  come,  then  bad  man  trouble 
no  more. 

"  *  The  Lord  says,  peoples  not  get  rich — Jesus  tell 
every  one  not  get  rich  here,  but  to  get  rich  in  sky. 
If  all  poor,  nobody  would  steal  and  be  bad.  If  all 
poor,  all  good. 

"  '  Peoples  say,  "  You  must  come  back  and  live  on 
farms."  God  say,  "  Can't  work  for  two  boss."  If 
live  on  farm  and  work  for  myself,  me  like  me  more 
than  God  and  for  God  do  nothing.  If  I  like  God  for 
boss,  I  go  out  and  walk  and  tell  all  the  peoples.' 

I  had  told  them  that  I  had  a  two-year-old  daugh- 
ter, and  Konkin  was  greatly  interested. 

^  What  you  teach  your  little  girl  ? '  he  asked. 
^  What  you  give  her  to  eat  ? ' 

"  When  I  had  told  him  he  shook  his  head  disap- 
pointedly. 

"  ^  Should  no  eat  meat,'  he  said.  ^  The  living 
should  not  live  on  the  living.' 


PEESONAL  EXPEBIENCES. 


25 


"  '  And  jou  don't  work  your  horses,  either  \ '  said 
1.   *  Didn't  God  send  them  here  for  us  to  use  ? ' 

"  *  You  like  to  work  you  % '  he  asked.  '  How  jou 
like  put  in  plough,  wagon,  beaten  with  stick,  eh? 
iN'o;  God  He  sav  be  kind  to  cattle,  to  all  things;  so  we 
no  work  them/ 

"  *  But,  if  the  cattle  are  not  to  be  used,  whv  were 
thej  made  \ ' 

*  They  made  to  look  at,  to  make  us  glad  when  we 
see — like  the  grass,  the  flowers.' 

"  It  was  long  past  dusk.  The  sun  had  dipped  be- 
hind dusky  bars  of  orange  and  crimson,  and  gray, 
mysterious  shadows  crept  across  the  prairie.  Dark- 
ness closed  down  on  the  earth.  Ahead  could  be  seen 
the  twinkling  lights  of  the  hamlet  of  Fox^varren,  a 
score  of  dwellings  and  stores  scattered  around  an  ele- 
vator and  the  railway  station.  The  snow  began  to 
fall  in  light  flakes.  The  pilgrims  halted  and  made 
their  pitifully  inadequate  preparations  for  camping. 
With  their  hands  they  tore  up  some  long  grass  to 
serve  as  beds.  From  their  pouches  each  took  a  hand- 
ful of  dry  oatmeal  and  munched  it.  Some  scattered 
in  the  darkness  to  hunt  for  the  dried  fruit  of  the  rose- 
bush. With  no  shelter,  under  the  open  sky,  they  lay 
down  on  the  snowy  prairie,  wearied  with  their  twen- 
ty-mile tramp.  Before  flinging  themselves  down, 
they  sang  a  psalm  and  quoted  Scripture  verses  re- 
sponsively,  standing  meanwhile  with  bare  heads 
while  the  snow  fell  quietly  over  them. 

"  Then  they  gathered  about  me  to  say  good-by. 
I  must  have  shaken  hands  with  two  hundred  of  them. 


26 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  CA^'ADA. 


*^ '  You  will  tell  the  people  ^vhat  we  say  ? '  asked 
Konkin. 

I  promised.  Vassili  looked  at  me  sorrowfully, 
patted  me  affectionately  on  the  shoulder  and  gave 
me  a  word  of  parting  counsel. 

^  We  all  of  us  wish/  he  said,  '  that  you  may  se3 
the  light.  We  wish  you  not  to  smoke,  not  to  work 
for  money.  Do  not  make  it  hell  for  self  there  ' — 
pointing  to  my  breast — '  make  it  heaven.  We  love 
you  much.  We  tell  Jesus  to  come  for  you.  Good- 
night ! ' 

"  As  I  turned  to  go  several  came  up  and  asked 
me  to  read  certain  portions  of  Scripture.  I  noted 
down  by  the  light  of  a  match  the  following:  Luke 
12,  Matthew  25,  Eomans  8  (their  favorite  chapter), 
Matthew  10,  and  Ephesians  6.  Then,  followed  by 
many  more  ^  good-nights  '  in  Russian,  I  set  out  to 
walk  to  Foxwarren.  As  I  neared  the  comfortable 
dwelling  where  I  was  to  spend  the  night,  I  thought 
of  those  misguided  pilgrims  lying  shelterless  on  the 
prairie,  exposed  to  the  rigors  of  a  Manitoba  winter. 
They  have  certainly  forsaken  all  to  follow  their  Lord, 
and,  however  their  actions  and  beliefs  may  fail  to 
harmonize  with  prevailing  religious  thought,  none 
can  deny  the  sincerity  of  these  pilgrims/' 

How  inexpressibly  pathetic !  Especially  when  one 
can  recall  their  honest  faces  and  many  kindnesses. 
One  is  reminded  of  the  Crusaders  and  of  dancing 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


27 


dervishes  in  such  an  account,  but  it  is  only  an  ex- 
hibition of  the  character  of  the  untutored  Russian 
peasant,  temporarily  excited  by  religious  enthusiasts. 
Dr.  J.  T.  Reid,  of  Winnipeg,  who  is  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  Doukhobors,  and  was  familiar  with 
the  facts  of  this  migration,  gave  his  opinion  of  these 
over-zealous  pilgrims  in  The  Montreal  Weekly  Wit- 
ness of  Tenth  month  6th,  1902,  as  follows: 

"  We  do  not  censure  the  Puritans  as  a  class  be- 
cause there  were  many  religious  fanatics  amongst 
them.  To  censure  the  Doukhobors  just  because  a 
minority  of  them  are  religious  enthusiasts  is  as  un- 
just as  the  Doukhobors  themselves  are  in  judging  all 
Canadians  by  the  more  uncivilized  minority  of  our 
people  whom  they  occasionally  see  on  the  frontiers 
of  our  civilization  in  the  West.  To  censure  them  as 
a  people  on  account  of  the  fanaticism  of  their  minor- 
ity is  as  illogical  as  it  were  to  class  the  whole  Ameri- 
can people  with  those  who  follow  Dowie  and  Mrs. 
Eddy. 

"  In  the  West  there  are  six  classes  of  men  who 
have  at  all  times  seemed  to  glory  in  the  abuse  of  the 
Doukhobors: 

"  1.  The  politician  of  a  certain  school,  whose  po- 
litical game  is  '  to  get  in,'  and  who  makes  political 
capital  out  of  every  opportunity  'to  get  the  other 
fellow  out.' 

"  2.  The  rancher,  who  wants  the  whole  earth 
within  the  bounds  of  his  own  ranch. 


28 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  CANADA. 


3.  The  class  who  cannot  appreciate  the  high 
moral  tone  of  the  Doukhobors,  and  therefore  look 
upon  them  as  hypocrites. 

4.  A  fonrth  class  who  are  so  narrowly  sectarian 
that  they  are  unable  to  see  any  good  outside  the  pale 
of  their  own  particular  creed. 

"  5.  A  fifth  class  whose  grasping  propensities  in 
the  West  are  being  daily  put  to  shame  by  the  more 
Christian  brotherly  kindness  of  the  Doukhobor,  to 
whom  Christianity  is  nothing  if  it  do  not  include  the 
love  of  neighbor. 

"  6.  Some  of  the  most  unjust  things  said  against 
them  have  been  said  by  disappointed  would-be  mis- 
sionaries, who  thought  the  Doukhobors  were  spiritu- 
ally benighted  and  were  anxious  to  enlighten 
them.  .  .  . 

"  Just  as  every  Anglo-Saxon  ^  craze '  runs  its 
course,  declines  and  disappears,  so  ts411  it  be  with  this 
fanatical  exuberance  of  the  Doukhobortsi." 

Indeed,  that  the  craze  very  rapidly  passed  its 
height,  and  began  to  decline,  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  the  Manitoha  Free  Press,  Eleventh 
month  21st,  1902: 

^*  Mr.  C.  W.  Spiers,  colonization  agent  of  the 
Dominion  government,  returned  Wednesday  from 
Yorkton,  driving  through  the  Doukhobor  settlements 
as  far  as  Fort  Pelly,  where  he  was  met  by  Agent 
Harley,  of  the  Swan  Kiver  district.  ^  The  Doukho- 
bors,' said  Mr.  Speers,  *  have  returned  to  their  re- 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


29 


spective  villages,  and  are  again  occupying  their 
former  homes.  Their  houses  were  in  perfect  readi- 
ness to  receive  them.  Ample  clothing  was  carefully 
piled  up  in  the  corner,  and  things  set  in  order,  pre- 
vious to  these  people  starting  on  their  pilgrimage. 
The  villages  are  well  supplied  with  roots  and  vege- 
tables, and  these  have  been  protected  by  the  depart-  . 
ment  from  frost  during  the  absence  of  the  people. 
In  fact,  I  had  arranged  some  time  ago  for  everything 
of  a  perishable  nature  to  be  protected.  The  villages 
are  also  well  supplied  with  grain,  consisting  of  w^heat, 
oats  and  barley,  and  a  quantity  of  flax.  There  is  yet 
some  threshing  to  do,  and  a  number  of  grist  mills 
that  have  been  built  by  this  community  are  in  opera- 
tion. 

^' '  These  people  will  require  very  little  to  support 
them  for  six  months,  and  they  are  at  present  consum- 
ing their  own  products.  There  is  a  greater  spirit  of 
contentment  than  I  expected  to  find,  and  a  great 
majority  of  the  returned  pilgrims  will  again  assume 
the  duties  of  life  along  right  lines. 

"  ^  I  was  informed  that  they  purchased  nine  pairs 
of  horses  at  Pelly  on  their  return  journey,  which 
would  go  to  prove  that  they  are  moving  in  the  right 
direction.  They  met  rather  a  cool  reception  from 
their  brethren  who  remained  and  were  not  affected 
by  the  mania.  This  is  having  a  good  effect,  because 
it  must  be  remembered  that  only  about  twenty  per 
cent,  of  these  people  were  affected.  I  have  been 
having  officials  take  an  inventory  of  all  ascertainable 


30 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


property,  and  find  the  villages  in  a  most  satisfactory 
condition  as  far  as  supplies  are  concerned.  The  pil- 
grims feel  that  their  missionary  work  was  not  a  suc- 
cess, and  I  think  I  can  safely  say  that  eighty  per 
cent,  of  the  younger  men  are  impressed  with  the 
necessity  of  commencing  to  work.  I  met  a  few  who 
still  want  to  preach,  and  there  are  a  few  leaders  who 
will  possibly  keep  up  an  agitation  for  a  time,  but  it 
would  be  a  difiicult  imdertaking  for  any  set  of  men 
to  conduct  such  a  movement  again.  I  consider  the 
situation  highly  satisfactory,  and  that  the  great 
majority  of  these  people  will  be  saved  to  the  labor 
market  of  Canada,  and  make  useful  settlers. 

"  ^  The  influence  of  the  Doukhobors  who  re- 
mained at  home  is  constantly  working  in  the  right 
direction.  There  has  been  considerable  outside  in- 
fluence brought  to  bear  upon  these  people,  and  some 
are  remaining  among  them  to  advise  them.  As  to 
how  successful  these  influences  may  be,  I  cannot  say. 
I  am  led  to  believe  that  these  people  should  be  let 
alone  for  a  time,  as  they  have  had  sufiicient  excite- 
ment. I  have  observed  that  in  Saskatchewan,  where 
we  have  sixteen  hundred  of  these  people,  they  are 
considered  good  settlers,  are  in  a  state  of  perfect  con- 
tentment, and  have  had  no  one  among  them  giving 
any  special  advice.' 

This  excitement  has  brought  the  whole  Brother- 
hood into  discredit  in  the  view  of  those  who  are  not 
personally  acquainted  with  their  many  sterling  qual- 


4 


Group  of  Ijiimigrant-  in  Yard  of  Immigration  Hall. 


PERSONAL  EXPEEIEXCES. 


31 


ities,  but  the  Canadian  Government  has  shown  its 
Kberal  policy,  and  the  humane  action  of  its  officials 
throughout  these  disturbing  outbreaks  has  been  most 
commendable.* 

Indeed,  it  was  one  of  the  privileges  of  my  late  visit 
to  the  Northwest  Territories  to  converse  with  these 
officers,  who  have  had  so  many  perplexing  problems 
to  solve  in  connection  with  the  colonization  work  of 
the  Dominion.  This  has  embraced  many  national- 
ities within  a  few  years. 

All  these  immigrants  come  to  Winnipeg,  as  the 
distributing  center  for  Western  Canada,  to  ascertain 
their  ultimate  location.  Thus  the  Immigration  Hall 
in  that  city  was  a  place  of  peculiar  interest  to  me,  and 
a  whole  week  was  spent  in  studying  the  character  of 
those  who  gathered  in  and  about  it. 

The  group  near  the  front  door  are  Swedes  who  had 
just  arrived  from  their  native  land  to  try  their  for- 
tunes in  America.    It  was  in  this  building  that  eight 

*  The  Commissioner  of  Immigration,  J.  Obed.  Smith,  stated 
the  position  of  the  present  administration  since  these  disturb- 
ing actions  on  the  part  of  the  Doukhobors  have  claimed  so 
much  public  attention,  in  "The  Manitoba  Morning  Free 
Press"  of  Ninth  month  23d,  1902,  as  follows:  "The  Doukho- 
bors have  been  dealt  mth  from  the  standpoint  that  they  would 
and  do  form  a  most  valuable  acquisition  to  Canada,  and  are 
much-needed  settlers  of  our  vacant  lands.  To  those  who  are 
disposed  to  criticise  the  presence  of  the  Doukhobors  I  would 
say  that  the  sociological  condition  of  these  people  (except 
the  few  who  have  imbibed  strange  notions)  before  coming 
to  Canada,  and  now,  must  be  taken  into  consideration,  and 
results  will  prove  from  that  standpoint  alone  the  real  value 
to  the  country  of  the  Community  of  Christian  Brotherhood, 
as  the  Doukhobors  delight  to  call  themselves." 


32 


THE  DOUKHOBOBS  IX  CANADA. 


hundred  Doiikhobors  were  temporarily  housed  and 
fed  three  years  ago,  and  the  testimony  of  their  care- 
takers was  very  pleasing,  as  both  the  janitor  and  the 
matron  told  me  they  had  never  before  had  such  a 
clean  and  orderly  lot  of  people  to  provide  for.  The 
gi'oiip  in  the  yard  is  made  up  of  four  Galician  women, 
two  Germans  from  Russia  (with  bread  under  their 
arms),  two  Doukhobor  men  (with  broad-brimmed 
hats),  and  a  few  Canadians.  It  was  in  this  yard  that 
I  met  forty  or  more  Doukhobors  who  were  seeking 
work  in  Winnipeg.  An  honest-faced  youth  of  twenty 
at  once  attracted  me,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  talk  to 
him  in  English,  and  to  learn  that  he  bore  the  name 
of  his  uncle,  Peter  Verigin. 

These  Doukhobors  assembled  in  the  Immigration 
Hall  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  to  recite  their 
hymns  and  go  through  the  Sunrise  Service.  This  is 
always  accompanied  by  the  greatest  seriousness  of 
manner,  and  one  can  but  be  impressed  with  their  sin- 
cerity and  love  one  for  another.  A  week  later  I  wit- 
nessed this  ceremony  in  their  Saskatchewan  settle- 
ment and  photographed  the  scene  in  front  of  a  gran- 
ary. The  men  were  mostly  absent,  working  on  the 
railroad,  and  this  accounts  for  the  greater  number  of 
women  present  at  the  "  service."  The  boy  is  bow- 
ing to  all  the  women  in  this  group.  Each  man  bows 
three  times,  kisses  each  of  the  other  men  once,  and 
then  bows  once  to  all  the  women,  to  which  they  re- 
spond collectively  by  a  bow.  The  women  also  bow 
and  kiss  each  other  as  the  men  do.    Finally,  all  the 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


33 


men  and  all  the  women  bow  at  the  same  time,  bring- 
ing their  foreheads  to  the  ground  in  true  oriental 
fashion.  All  this  is  accompanied  by  a  united  chant- 
ing of  their  sacred  hymns,  and  is  preceded  by  the  reci- 
tation of  portions  of  the  scriptures,  or  of  some  prayer 
in  ritualistic  form. 

This  service  began  at  four  a.m.  and  continued 
imtil  six  o'clock.  The  early  hour  was  originally 
chosen  so  as  to  escape  persecution  by  their  enemies 
in  Kussia,  and  they  quite  agreed  with  me  in  thinking 
that  the  meeting  might  now  be  held  a  little  later  in 
the  day,  as  that  necessity  no  longer  exists.  They  al- 
ways gave  opportunity  for  remarks  by  the  visitors, 
and  listened  most  respectfully  to  what  was  said  to 
them.  Their  patriarch,  Ivan  Mahortov,  was  present 
at  the  third  sunrise  service  I  witnessed,  in  which 
twelve  men  and  thirty-six  women  took  part,  and  he 
turned  round  at  the  conclusion  and  explained  their 
belief  with  great  dignity  and  clearness.  My  inter- 
preter said  he  recited  some  Greek  Church  hymns 
dating  back  to  400  A.D.,  and  even  included  the  Vir- 
gin Mary  in  the  summing  up  of  their  creed.  Such 
is  the  force  of  early  associations ! 

After  the  "  service  in  the  Immigration  Hall,  we 
had  a  Molokan  (a  Russian  sect  in  many  respects  simi- 
lar to  the  Doukhobors),  who  entered  heartily  into 
sympathy  with  the  occasion,  to  interpret  for  my 
father  and  myself;  and  we  found  that  these  Douk- 
hobors had  some  wrong  ideas  about  the  Canadian 
Government,  which  we  endeavored  to  correct.  A 


34 


THE   DOUKHOBORS  CANADA. 


bright  little  girl  interpreted  for  the  few  Doukhobor 
women  present. 

From  Winnipeg  we  went  on  to  Rosthem,  the 
nearest  railway  station  to  the  Saskatchewan  colony. 
This  journey  of  five  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles 
was  comfortably  accomplished  in  twenty-four  hours. 
To  travel  whole  days  with  fcAv  human  habitations  in 
sight,  and  scarcely  a  fence  or  a  tree,  might  have  a 
depressing  effect  if  it  were  not  for  the  beautiful 
prairie  flowers  and  occasional  antelopes  that  can  be 
seen  from  the  train  window.  Yet  there  is  endless  en- 
tertainment in  traveling  on  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  if  one  studies  and  sympathizes  with  the  vari- 
ous classes  of  travelers.  There  are  almost  always 
four  or  five  colonists'  coaches  on  a  train,  in  addition 
to  the  tourists'  and  Pullman  cars. 

At  least  half  a  dozen  nationalities  were  repre- 
sented on  our  train,  and  some  of  these  representa- 
tives were  going  to  their  new  homes  on  the  prairie. 
On  one  journey  of  three  hundred  miles  we  had  as 
fellow  travelers  a  party  of  Welsh  people  who  had 
just  arrived  from  Patagonia,  where  they  had  lived 
twelve  years.  The  children  spoke  Spanish,  and  had 
forgotten  what  English  they  had  once  known,  which 
the  parents  regretted.  The  name  of  John  Evans  was 
evidence  of  their  Welsh  origin. 

Upon  our  arrival  at  Rosthern  we  were  met  by 
Michael  Sherbinin,  and  Xurse  Boyle.  The  former  is 
a  Russian  nobleman,  who  has  cast  in  his  lot  among 
the  Doukhobors,  and  is  now  teaching  their  children, 


PEESOXAL  EXPERIENCES. 


35 


while  Xurse  Boyle  is  ministering  to  their  physical 
needs.  Both  of  these  useful  workers  were  sent  out 
under  the  auspices  of  the  English  Doukhobor  Com- 
mittee of  London  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends. 

Xext  morning  we  started  on  Doukhobor  wagons 
for  the  village  of  Petrofka,  on  the  Saskatchewan 
River,  twenty-five  miles  distant.  On  the  way  our 
Doukhobor  driver  gave  us  a  soul-stirring  narrative, 
told  in  Russian,  of  his  experiences  in  the  Caucasus. 
His  sons  had  been  imprisoned  and  so  cruelly  treated 
that  one  of  them  died  in  consequence.  With  tears 
running  do^-n  his  cheeks  the  father  told  us  how  he 
had  nursed  this  young  man,  and  how  he  had  followed 
another  son  to  his  Siberian  place  of  exile. 

While  we  w^ere  still  listening  to  the  driver's  story, 
a  Mennonite  overtook  us.  Seeing  the  over-loaded 
condition  of  our  vehicle  he  very  kindly  invited 
Michael  Sherbinin  and  myself  to  share  his  comfort- 
able spring  wagon,  which  we  accepted.  These  Men- 
nonites  are  particularly  good  neighbors  to  the  Douk- 
hobors.  Our  new  friend  told  us  that  the  Doukhobors 
had  come  to  his  house  one  evening  three  years  be- 
fore, as  they  were  seeking  their  new  home.  There 
were  several  hundred  in  the  company,  and  most  of 
them  were  walking.  They  asked  that  a  few  of  their 
women  might  be  sheltered  for  the  night.  At  first  it 
seemed  beyond  his  power  to  take  any  of  them  into 
his  house,  as  it  was  small,  but  something  in  his  heart 
bid  him  to  do  what  he  could;  and  he  said  it  was  al- 
ways a  great  comfort  to  him  that  he  had  yielded  to 


36 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


the  impression,  especially  as  he  afterwards  learned 
something  of  their  experiences.  He  could  not  un- 
derstand their  language  at  the  time  he  took  them 
into  his  house,  nor  did  he  then  know  what  brought 
them  in  such  numbers  to  his  door.  We  rode  with  our 
kind  Mennonite  friend  to  his  home  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Saskatchewan  River,  and  shared  the  evening 
meal  with  him  before  we  rejoined  our  comrades. 

To  reach  Petrofka  we  had  to  be  ferried  over  the 
Saskatchewan.  The  approach  to  the  ferry  was  quite 
perilous  at  this  time,  as  the  river  was  twenty  feet 
higher  than  usual,  and  had  overflowed  its  banks. 
The  descent  was  very  steep  for  several  hundred  feet, 
and,  right  at  the  river's  brink,  it  became  almost  a 
sheer  precipice.  The  following  account  from  the 
pen  of  a  traveler  who  had  made  the  crossing  the  pre- 
ceding winter  will  give  a  vi^dd  idea  of  the  difficulties 
to  be  overcome: 

"  Of  trail  there  was  scarce  a  semblance.  For  three 
hundred  feet  our  path  lay  down  a  slope  as  steep  and 
as  smooth  as  a  toboggan  slide.  At  its  foot  were  a  few 
willow  scrub,  and  then  came  a  clear  drop  of  fifty  or 
sixty  feet.  If  the  team  became  unmanageable,  and 
could  not  be  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  slide,  the  pros- 
pect of  the  drop  beyond  was  not  reassuring.  .  .  . 
The  interpreter  said  he  would  walk  down,  so  as  to 
lighten  the  load  and  pilot  the  way.  He  started  slowly 
and  cautiously,  but  soon  the  slope  and  his  weight  in- 
creased his  speed.     His  feet  twinkled  faster  and 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


37 


faster  through  the  powdery  snow  that  rose  up  and 
enveloped  him  waist  high  like  a  halo,  above  which 
his  rotund  body  and  gesticulating  arms  could  be  seen 
as  he  rushed  to  what  seemed  almost  certain  destruc- 
tion. But  Providence,  in  the  shape  of  the  afore- 
mentioned willow  bushes,  interposed,  and  he  crashed 
into  their  interposing  boughs,  and  fell,  a  portly, 
breathless  heap  of  huddled  humanity,  among  their 
protecting  branches.  'Next  it  was  my  turn.  I  grasped 
the  lines  short,  braced  myself  against  the  foot  rail, 
and  chirruped  to  the  team.  But  neither  of  them  ex- 
hibited the  slightest  inclination  to  proceed.  The  sor- 
rel was  particularly  rebellious,  and  plunged  and 
reared  on  the  edge  of  the  steep  in  a  most  nerve-rack- 
ing fashion.  Finally,  with  delicate  little  steps,  and 
snorts  of  fear,  they  were  persuaded  to  essay  the 
descent.  Until  a  little  more  than  half  way  down,  all 
went  well.  Then  one  of  them  slipped,  and  in  a 
second,  cutter  and  team  were  slithering  down,  the 
former  on  their  haunches.  Down  below  I  could  see 
my  companion  scramble  with  frantic  haste  out  of  our 
line  of  descent.  His  plump  figure  could  be  seen 
through  the  blinding  snowmist  raised  by  the  horses, 
crashing  through  the  underbrush  with  an  agility  out 
of  all  proportion  to  his  weight.  At  the  foot  of  the 
hill  I  partly  succeeded  in  pulling  the  team  to  the  left, 
thus  avoiding  the  sheer  drop  ahead,  and  giving  the 
horses  an  opportunity  of  catching  their  feet.  The 
thin,  limber  willow  twigs  sang  like  whips  as,  bowing 
my  head  and  straining  on  the  lines,  we  dashed  into 


38 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  CANADA. 


the  brush.  There  was  a  moment's  wild  rush,  then  a 
plunge  and  a  bump,  and  the  cutter  was  still — ^jammed 
against  a  tree  stump  whose  top  was  covered  with 
snow.  The  horses  shook  themselves,  gave  a  snort  or 
two,  and  then  the  brown  proceeded  nonchalantly  to 
help  himself  to  some  outcropping  tufts  of  slough 
grass.  Xeither  of  the  team  had  a  scratch,  and  no  in- 
jury was  apparent  to  the  cutter.  My  companion 
^  lost  his  English  '  as  he  described  the  slide,  and  went 
off  into  German  and  Polish  and  Russian  and  Magyar 
in  recounting  its  incidents.'' 

The  milder  season  of  our  own  crossing  reduced 
the  peril  of  descending  the  banks,  but  increased 
those  of  the  actual  passage  of  the  stream.  The 
Doukhobor  who  managed  the  raft  which  was  at- 
tached to  a  steel  cable  stretched  across  the  river,  felt 
very  anxious  about  our  passage,  as  there  was  a  strong 
wind  blowing  us  against  the  current.  Once  landed, 
we  had  a  still  more  alarming  experience,  plunging 
through  such  mud  as  half  buried  our  horses,  and  al- 
lowed the  water  to  come  into  the  wagon  bed.  The 
'*  snap  "  of  our  wagon  shows  it  in  such  a  hole  or 
ditch,  with  the  horses  in  water  up  to  their  breasts, 
and  a  woman  nearly  thrown  out  of  the  wagon.  It 
was  a  very  narrow  escape,  both  for  herself  and  child, 
for  she  was  thrown  violently  over  the  side  as  the 
wagon  dropped  into  this  hole. 

The  mud  was  axle-deep  in  the  roadway  up  which 
we  struggled  to  the  solid  bank.    "When  this  was 


PHOTOGRAPHED    BV    JOSEPH  ELKIXTON. 

Crossing  the  Saskatchewan  Eiver — Petrofka  Feny, 


PHOTOGRAPHED   BY   JOSEPH  ELKIXTON. 


PERSONAL  EXPEEIENCES. 


39 


ascended  we  were  greeted  by  some  thirty  Douklio- 
bor  girls,  chanting  their  plaintive  Russian  hymns  of 
welcome,  while  the  men  and  matrons  of  the  village 
stood  on  the  brow  of  the  bank.  Thus  surrounded  by 
a  hundred  of  these  swarthy  sons  and  daughters  of 
the  soil,  and  overlooking  the  tumultuous  stream  w^e 
had  just  crossed,  one  could  but  think  of  Miriam 
when  she  sang  her  song  of  deliverance  on  the  banks 
of  the  Red  Sea. 

It  was  a  sight  not  soon  to  be  forgotten,  as  these 
very  picturesquely-attired  peasants  stood  on  the  top 
of  that  bank,  with  the  sun  setting  at  their  backs,  and 
the  prairie  stretching  around  us  on  either  side  of  the 
river  for  thirty  to  forty  miles  in  all  the  glory  of  its 
early  summer  verdure. 

After  photographing  this  group,  before  the  even- 
ing shades  had  fallen — (one  could  see  to  read  until 
10  p.m.) — we  proceeded  to  the  hospitable  home  of 
Michael  Sherbinin,  upon  the  edge  of  the  village, 
which  we  made  our  home  while  visiting  the  villages 
of  this  settlement  of  eleven  communities. 

When  I  called  at  one  of  the  Doukhobor  houses  in 
Petrofka,  the  father,  lifting  his  little  boy  in 
his  arms,  told  me  how  the  child  had  clung 
to  him  when  he  was  forcibly  taken  from  his  family 
by  the  Caucasian  authorities,  and  how,  after  three 
years'  imprisonment,  the  lad  did  not  know  him.  His 
argument  with  the  military  officer  was  written  out 
at  my  request,  and  is  substantially  as  follows: 


40 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  CAIs'ADA. 


"  '  The  Lord  Jesus  commanded  us  not  to  fight,  but 
to  be  kind  and  meek; — to  love  equally  all  who  live 
on  the  earth,  as  Christ  the  Saviour  of  our  souls  loved 
us  all,  and  gave  his  body  to  be  crucified  for  us  sin- 
ners, and  has  manifested  his  love  before  all  nations. 
He  said,    Eesist  not  him  that  is  evil.''  ' 

"  ^  But  why  do  you  not  want  to  serve  the  Imperial 
Power  ?  We  are  going  to  fiercely  persecute  you  and 
severely  punish  you  in  order  to  subdue  you  under 
the  power  of  the  Russian  Emperor,  and  we  will  leave 
your  wives  and  children  fatherless.' 

"  '  Dear  Mr.  Procureur,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
said,  "  The  time  will  come  when  they  will  persecute 
you  for  my  name's  sake ;  but  be  ye  not  afraid ;  for  to 
the  widows  I  will  be  a  husband,  and  to  the  orphans  I 
will  be  a  father,  and  my  eye  beholdeth  you  all."  ' 

"  The  procureur  shouted  to  the  Russian  soldiers, 
'  Take  him  to  prison !  '  Two  of  the  soldiers  ran  up 
to  me  and  put  iron  chains  on  my  hands,  and  drove 
me  rudely  to  the  prison  castle.  My  mother,  father, 
wife  and  children  followed  me,  and  besought  the  sol- 
diers to  allow  them  to  come  and  bid  me  farewell. 
The  soldiers  replied:  ^  Do  not  come  near  here,  or  we 
will  run  our  bayonets  through  you.'  The  baby  boy 
cried  and  stretched  out  his  hands  to  me.  The  sol- 
diers shouted  at  the  little  boy,  ^  Get  away,  far 
away ! '  and  one  of  them  ran  with  his  gun  after  the 
boy  and  my  wife.  They  got  frightened  and  ran,  and 
one  of  my  boys  fell  down  from  fright.   Then  the  sol- 


PERSONAL  EXPEEIENCES. 


41 


dier  ran  up  to  my  wife  and  hit  her  with  the  butt  end 
of  his  gun.  I  said  to  my  parents  and  my  wife :  ^  Fare- 
well; '  and  I  entered  the  jail  in  the  town  of  Kars. 
There  I  was  kept  three  months  without  being  per- 
mitted to  see  any  visitors.  On  the  15th  of  Novem- 
ber they  took  me  to  the  prison  of  Tiflis,  a  journey  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  My  parents,  my  , 
wife  and  children  followed  me.  They  applied  to  the 
soldiers,  asking  to  be  allowed  to  bid  me  farewell. 
The  soldiers  answered:  *  The  commander  of  the  for- 
tress has  ordered  us  not  to  admit  you  near.  Go 
away  from  here,  or  we'll  shoot  at  you.' 

"  Then  I  said  from  afar  to  my  relatives,  '  Live  ye 
in  the  law  of  God  and  His  hand  will  protect  you !  ' 
My  father  Gregory  said,  ^  Our  dear  child,  we  are 
very  sorry  to  part  with  thee,  but  the  Lord  is  our 
help.  Let  us  go  forth  to  suffer  for  His  name's  sake, 
and  he  will  give  us  to  meet  where  there  is  no  part- 
ing !  '  Then  the  elder  conveying  soldier  said,  ^  That 
will  do  for  talking!  Go  on!'  And  then  the  chil- 
dren stretched  out  their  little  arms  towards  me  and 
cried  bitterly. 

"  After  these  events  I  sat  in  the  prison  of  Tiflis 
three  years.  After  these  three  years  were  over  the 
procureur  gave  leave  to  my  parents  to  come  and  visit 
me.  On  the  25th  of  May,  1898,  my  parents  arrived 
to  see  me.  They  came  to  the  yard  of  the  prison,  and 
I  was  admitted  to  meet  them.  I  greeted  them,  and 
called  to  my  little  son,  Nicolas,  who  was  then  eight 


42 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IN  CANADA. 


years  old;  but  the  boy  did  not  recognize  me.  He 
said,  '  Let  me  go;  I  don't  know  thee  at  all!  '  With 
these  words  he  escaped  from  my  arms  and  ran  to  his 
mother.  I  wept  bitterly  and  said:  'My  God,  my 
God,  my  children  have  forgotten  me ! ' 

The  TOW  shows  a  Doukhobor  wagon  like  that  in 
which  we  had  started  to  cross  the  prairie  from  Kos- 
thern,  standing  at  Michael  Sherbinin's  house,  with 
Xurse  Boyle  wearing  a  white  cap.  This  particular 
load  of  Doukhobor  women  and  babies  had  come 
twenty  miles  for  the  purpose  of  having  the  children 
vaccinated.  Michael  Sherbinin  took  them  all  into 
his  house  and  gave  them  a  hearty  meal.  The  school 
house,  which  Friends  of  Philadelphia  are  building, 
will  occupy  a  site  similar  to  this  upon  which  Michael 
Sherbinin's  house  stands.  The  Mennonite  Reserve 
is  upon  the  other  side  of  the  river. 

In  traveling  across  the  prairie  to  the  surrounding 
villages  we  used  the  Bain  Wagon,  as  shown  in  the 
picture.  (See  page  43.)  The  front  seat  is  occupied  by 
Yassili  Vereschagin  and  his  wife,  who  were  helpful 
to  us  in  many  ways.  They  were  about  forty  years  of 
age,  and  were  among  the  most  progressive  in  adopting 
American  ways  of  living.  After  Michael  Sherbinin 
and  his  wife,  who  occupy  the  middle  seat  of  the  wagon, 
had  interpreted  my  desires  to  them,  Vassili  would  en- 
treat his  brethren  to  send  their  children  to  school. 
My  mission  was  primarily  an  educational  one,  believ- 
ing, as  I  do,  that  the  education  of  their  children  is  the 


COPYBIGHT,     1903,     BY    JOSEi'H  KLKIXTOX. 

Doukhobor  team,   with   the   Mennoiiite  Reserve 
in    the  distance. 


Ready  jor  the  start,  to  visit  the  Saskatchewan  viUages. 


PERSOXAL  EXPERIENCES. 


43 


effective  way  in  which  to  reach  their  parents.  Xight 
after  night  we  held  conferences,  and  four  ont  of  five 
of  their  communities  desired  that  a  school  should  be 
started.  I  cannot  forget  the  earnest  faces  of  those 
strong  men  and  women,  standing  three  and  four 
deep,  in  their  clean,  whitewashed  homes,  often  until 
near  midnight,  eagerly  drinking  in  the  suggestions 
that  were  made  regarding  their  educational  needs. 
If  those  persons  who  have  formed  such  unfavorable 
opinions  of  the  Doukhobors  because  of  the  late  out- 
breaks of  fanaticism  in  the  Yorkton  district  could 
visit  these  villages  in  the  Saskatchewan  settlement, 
their  ideas  would  be  greatly  modified. 

These  Doukhobors  have  taken  up  their  home- 
steads, and  they  have  done  marvels  in  the  past  three 
years  towards  improving  their  condition.  The  soil 
is  very  fertile,  and  being  within  the  wheat  belt,  great 
crops  of  wheat  and  flax  are  harvested. 

As  we  journeyed  from  village  to  village,  separated 
sometimes  by  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  we  saw  badgers, 
coyotes,  foxes  and  wild  ducks,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
innumerable  prairie  dogs.  Upon  our  arrival  at  a  vil- 
lage the  men  and  women,  and  frequently  the  chil- 
dren, would  be  gathered  at  a  house,  selected  by  them- 
selves, in  which  we  were  to  be  entertained. 

As  they  were  fond  of  being  photographed,  after 
the  usual  salutation  of  bowing  was  over,  I  would 
take  snap-shots  of  the  groups  thus  assembled.  The 
women  when  at  work  always  tuck  up  their  skirts, 
which  never  trail  upon  the  ground.    (See  page  39.) 


44 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


An  interesting  street  scene  is  at  eventide,  when 
the  cows  are  coming  in  from  the  prairie.  The  large 
logs  on  the  right  in  the  picture  were  taken  out  of  the 
Saskatchewan  Eiver  bj  the  Doukhobors  to  be  used 
in  building  their  houses. 

As  we  passed  through  one  village  (Troitzkoye)  we 
dined  with  Simeon  Xicolajevitch  Popov,  a  man  of 
sixtj-two  years  of  age,  who  had  built  an  entire  flour 
mill,  including  the  dressing  of  the  mill-stones  from 
rough  stones  which  he  found  in  the  neighborhood. 
Three  horses  were  turning  these  stones,  and  we 
found  from  personal  experience  that  the  flour  was 
flue  enough  to  make  good  bread,  which  we  enjoyed 
eating. 

The  Doukhobors  where  I  visited  were  vegetarians 
without  exception,  and  they  all  seemed  very  robust 
in  health.  They  need  fruit,  and  it  is  a  hardship  that 
it  cannot  be  gro^vn  in  that  climate. 

Occasionally  we  would  see  evidences  of  consider- 
able artistic  ability.  A  certain  house-yard  fence  at- 
tracted my  attention,  and  I  asked  our  driver  who 
made  it.  He  replied  that  he  was  the  owner  and  had 
built  it  with  his  own  hands.  Everything  about  this 
house  gave  evidence  of  taste  and  skill.  He  is  seen 
in  the  picture  standing  near  the  angle  of  his  fence, 
while  near  at  hand  were  several  trees  which  he  had 
planted. 

The  great  oven  is  a  characteristic  feature  of  these 
Russian  houses.  The  oven  front  stands  six  feet  high 
and  flve  feet  wide.    The  interior  baking  space  is  ap- 


PHOTOGRAPHED   BY    JOSEPH  ELKINTON. 

Village  scene  at  eventide. 


COPYRIGHT,    1903,    BY    JOSEPH  ELKINTON. 

A   model  home. 


COPYRIGHT,     1903,    BY    JOSEPH  ELKIXTOX. 

A   baby  show. 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


45 


proximately  three  by  four  feet.  On  top  of  this  oven 
several  small  children  can  be  stowed  away  for  the 
night. 

I  stood  by  this  maiden  of  seventeen  years  who 
holds  the  long-handled  lifter,  as  she  deftly  placed  the 
copper  pan  near  the  glowing  embers,  and  quickly 
withdrew  it  with  a  toothsome  pancake.  The  batter  * 
cup  and  saucer,  with  the  buttered  cloth,  are  at  the 
left,  while  the  ashes  were  pushed  to  the  right  of  the 
vestibule  of  the  oven  proper.   (See  page  47.) 

At  another  time  five  young  mothers  were  grouped 
in  front  of  one  of  these  ovens.  The  bonnets  of  these 
babies  were  quite  elaborate,  and  their  eyes  very 
bright. 

When  we  reached  the  village  of  Gorelofka,  Savili 
Feodorevitch  Choodyakov  and  his  brothers,  with 
their  kind  mother,  were  ready  to  give  us  a  warm 
welcome,  and  we  cannot  omit  to  mention  how  all  the 
good  people  of  this  village  entertained  us  with  royal 
hospitality.  They  also  bestowed  presents  of  clothes 
upon  me.  A  widow  of  seventy  years  came  to  me 
with  her  marriage  scarf,  saying  that  she  would  pres- 
ently die,  and  as  her  children  were  either  dead  or 
too  far  away  to  give  them  this  sacred  emblem  of  her 
marriage,  she  wished  to  bestow  it  upon  me,  as  other- 
wise it  would  go  into  her  coffin.  The  scarf  is  made 
of  Russian  crash,  about  two  yards  long,  and  has  sev- 
eral bands  of  silk  of  various  colors  below  a  section  of 
conventional  design.  Each  woman  is  presented  with 
one  of  these  when  she  marries.    They  had  shortly 


46 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  CANADA. 


before  given  me  a  new  coat  and  sacred  sash,  such  as 
is  worn  during  their  Sunrise  service.  The  cap 
(fedora)  is  made  of  a  short,  curly  lambskin,  and  came 
from  the  Caucasus.    (See  first  page  of  Introduction.) 

The  same  style  is  seen  on  a  little  boy  on  the  ex- 
treme right  of  a  group  of  men,  women  and  children. 
In  this  photogTaph  it  may  also  be  observed  how  two 
layers  of  prairie  sod  make  the  roof.    (See  page  63.) 

The  women  wear  a  very  picturesque  and  comfort- 
able hood,  with  a  rosette  of  bright  color  on  the  front 
of  it.  The  velvet  band  which  encircles  the  head  is 
invariably  black;  otherwise  there  is  considerable 
variety  in  the  color  used,  although  the  shape  is  al- 
ways the  same.  In  this  group  none  of  the  chanting 
girls  are  wearing  their  white  handkerchiefs  or  shawls 
over  their  hoods,  as  I  requested  them  to  take  these  o"ff 
when  being  photographed.  This  white  shawl  is  in- 
variably worn  by  the  women  in  the  fields,  and  when- 
ever they  are  working,  the  hood  being  reserved  for 
special  occasions.  The  young  man  on  the  right  was 
about  twenty  years  of  age,  and,  being  lame,  was  serv- 
ing as  shoemaker  to  the  village. 

The  heavy  winter  sheepskin  coat  was  quite  com- 
fortable when  riding  across  the  prairie,  even  in  mid- 
summer. The  women  in  this  group  were  sixteen  and 
eighteen,  and  the  boy  about  twelve  years  of  age. 
The  doll  baby  they  had  dressed  especially  for  me. 

When  about  to  leave  this  colony  I  found  that  one 
or  more  of  the  Doukhobor  girls  could  talk  English 
quite  well,  and  so  we  had  some  conversation  about 


COPYRIGHT,     1903,     BY    J'i~Er:i  EL 

Group  of  chanting  girls. 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


47 


their  coming  home  with  me  as  domestic  helpers.  It 
Avas  very  interesting  to  see  how  the  proposition  was 
regarded  by  them.  After  thinking  about  it  for  some 
time  the  younger  of  the  two  thought  she  was  willing 
to  come,  while  the  elder  hesitated,  for  fear  she 
"  would  not  get  back  in  time  to  get  married.''  I 
asked  her  how  old  she  was,  and  she  replied  that  she 
was  sixteen.  The  younger  was  thirteen.  The  men 
and  women  generally  marry  when  about  seventeen 
years  of  age. 

After  a  week  spent  most  pleasantly,  barring  the 
mosquitoes,  in  this  colony  on  the  Saskatchewan 
River,  we  returned  to  Winnipeg  via  Regina,  in  order 
to  visit  the  Yorkton  settlement,  which  consists  of 
forty-seven  villages,  situated  from  thirty  to  ninety 
miles  distant  from  that  town  (see  map).  The  South 
Colony  is  on  the  Assiniboine  and  White  Sand  Rivers, 
while  the  Xorth  Colony  is  located  near  the  Swan 
River,  north  of  Fort  Pelly,  and  there  are  six  villages 
on  Good  Spirit  Lake.  The  ride  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty-two  miles  from  Winnipeg  to  Yorkton  occu- 
pied a  whole  day  by  train,  but  it  gave  us  another  op- 
portunity to  appreciate  the  great  work  which  the 
Canadian  government  is  accomplishing  in  colonizing 
these  vast  stretches  of  prairie.  We  saw  two  trains  of 
thirteen  cars  each,  entirely  occupied  by  Galicians. 
One  of  these  trains  unloaded  before  us.  It  was  a 
sight  that  continually  comes  back  to  me  as  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  of  this  interesting  journey.  There 
were  throngs  of  little  children  and  larger  boys  and 


48 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  CANADA. 


girls  ^vith  packages  of  every  conceivable  shape  upon 
their  backs,  while  their  parents  were  laboring  under 
loads  that  almost  eclipsed  their  picturesque  costumes. 

It  was  four  days  after  our  arrival  at  Yorkton  be- 
fore we  could  get  a  carriage  to  take  us  the  fifty  miles 
north  to  Poterpevshe,  where  "  Grandmother  "  Veri- 
gin  lives.  The  roads  were  so  bad,  on  account  of  the 
constant  rains  for  the  two  preceding  months,  that 
they  were  thought  to  be  impassable.  These  days  of 
waiting  were  improved  by  gathering  together  the 
Doukhobor  men  who  had  come  to  Yorkton  to  trade 
and  to  find  employment  on  the  railroad.  One  him- 
dred  and  fifty  Doukhobors  had  been  called  for  by 
railroad  contractors,  and  runners  had  been  sent  out 
to  the  various  villages  to  bring  them  to  Yorkton. 

The  picture  shows  such  a  group  as  we  repeatedly 
conversed  with,  and  they  represent  the  class  of  men 
who  went  on  the  late  pilgrimage.  They  could  not 
appreciate  the  good  will  of  the  Canadian  government 
in  its  homestead  regulations,  and  they  were  afraid 
of  signing  their  names  to  any  document,  as  they  had 
always  gotten  into  trouble  by  doing  so  in  Russia. 
Time  and  again  we  endeavored  to  enlighten  them, 
but  without  the  same  success  we  had  had  with  their 
Saskatchewan  brethren.  Xotwithstanding  this,  they 
had  traits  of  character  we  could  admire. 

Frederick  Leonhardt  and  Michael  Sherbinin  were 
both  invaluable  interpreters,  and  the  kindness  of  the 
former  toward  Michael  Sherbinin  and  myself  in  shel- 


COPYRIGHT,     1903,     BY    JOSEI'II  ELKINTOX. 

Yorkton  Doukhobors. 


COl'VRIGHl,  L\     .iii-l.l'll  i'LKISioN, 

Blacksmith  shop. 


THOTOGRAPHED  BY  T.   V.    SIMPSON,  V.S. 

Men   serving-  as  horses. 


PEESOXAL  EXPEEIENCES. 


49 


tering  us  under  his  most  hospitable  roof  mQ  always 
be  a  pleasant  memory. 

Eobert  Buchanan  had  come  from  Good  Spirit 
Lake  to  Yorkton  to  see  us.  He  and  his  wife  have 
been  very  good  friends  of  the  Doukhobors,  and  can 
testify  to  their  faithfulness  as  reliable  servants.  A 
Doukhobor  and  his  wife  have  had  entire  charge  of 
their  home  affairs  for  months  at  a  time.  He  had  in- 
fluenced the  Doukhobors  near  his  home  to  take  up 
their  homesteads  and  not  to  go  on  the  late  pilgrim- 
age, or  release  their  horses  and  cows. 

After  this  interview  we  started  for  Poterpevshe, 
and  soon  passed  the  Doukhobor  blacksmith  shop  in 
Yorkton,  where  lived  the  largest  woman  I  saw  among 
them.  Our  team  was  one  of  the  finest,  but  the  driver 
dreaded  the  journey,  as  he  declared  he  had  not  seen 
such  trails  during  the  past  twelve  years.  We  dined 
on  the  open  prairie,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  in- 
numerable mosquitoes  our  camp-fire  lunch  of  coffee 
and  boned  turkey  would  have  been  very  much  en- 
joyed. 

The  mosquito  pest  of  this  country  is  greatly 
against  it.  The  air  was  literally  full  of  them  during 
the  entire  trip,  and  they  would  settle  so  close  upon 
the  coat  of  our  driver  as  to  change  the  color  of  it 
from  black  to  yellow,  as  the  wings  of  this  variety  of 
mosquito  are  straw-colored. 

About  this  time  we  saw  several  men  and  boys 
drawing  a  loaded  wagon,  and  as  they  drew  near  I 
asked  one  of  them,  through  the  interpreter,  why  they 


60 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


did  not  use  horses.  His  reply  was  very  candid,  and 
in  the  words  of  Scripture  (Rom.  8:  19,  22):  "The 
whole  creation  waiteth  and  groaneth  even  until  now 
for  the  manifestation  of  (mercy  on  the  part  of)  the 
sons  of  God."  I  remonstrated  that  the  Apostle  was 
not  writing  about  horses,  but  of  a  spiritual  bondage 
which  our  unregenerate  wills  inflicted  upon  "  the 
better  part  "  in  our  own  souls.  He  wished  to  include 
the  animal  creation  as  "  sons  of  God." 

The  tenderness  of  this  man's  conscience  was  most 
apparent,  and  his  honest  face  appealed  to  one 
strongly,  so  I  knew  not  which  to  pity  most,  his  body 
or  his  mind.  They  pulled  that  wagon  through  many 
sloughs  that  were  dangerous  for  our  horses  to  enter, 
and  after  a  round  trip  of  seventy  miles  I  saw  him 
again,  and  said  I  was  very  glad  that  they  had  sur- 
vived their  toils  as  horses.  He  looked  earnestly  into 
my  face,  and,  with  tears  running  down  his  cheeks, 
said:  "  If  you  would  only  think  as  we  do  God  might 
make  some  use  of  you  in  your  generation,  for  I  see 
you  have  some  ability."  I  assured  him  it  would  be 
some  time  before  I  thought  as  they  did  about  using 
horses,  and  that  their  children  would  not  hold  such 
ideas. 

About  him  stood  a  group  of  the  most  sincere  and 
kind-hearted  people  I  had  ever  met,  showing  every 
evidence  of  prosperity;  and  I  felt  that  it  was  a  psy- 
chological problem  to  eliminate  this  over-conscien- 
tious mental  attitude  from  such  a  kind  and  true 
spirit.    So  it  is  with  all  the  fanaticism  that  has  ap- 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


51 


peared  among  this  really  worthy  people.  A  people 
who  will  not  fight,  or  steal,  or  drink  anything  intoxi- 
cating, or  smoke,  or  use  profane  language,  or  lie,  have 
a  character  which  will  bring  forth  the  best  qualities 
of  Christian  citizenship. 

If  we  can  but  help  and  stimulate  them  to  educate 
their  children,  in  another  generation  these  ignorant 
peasants  will  be  transformed  into  intelligent  farmers 
and  tradesmen.  It  is  greatly  to  their  credit  that  they 
are  very  particular  as  to  the  teachers  they  admit 
among  them,  and  no  one  need  undertake  that  func- 
tion who  has  not  a  sympathetic  temperament. 

About  sunset,  after  six  hours  of  plunging  in  and 
out  of  those  dreadful  sloughs,  we  came  upon  a  group 
of  twenty-five  women  who  had  been  picking  ginseng* 
root  on  the  prairie.  These  Doukhobors  were  seated 
upon  the  grass,  eating  their  evening  meal,  and  ap- 
parently enjoying  it  greatly.  They  rose  most  cour- 
teously, but  I  requested  them  to  be  seated  again 
while  I  photographed  them. 

That  night  was  spent  in  the  home  of  a  German 
family  with  eight  small  children,  and  apparently  sev- 
eral million  mosquitoes.  As  it  was  a  post-office,  with 
a  weekly  mail  service,  we  endeavored  to  divert  our 
minds  from  these  uncomfortable  guests,  by  writing 
home,  until  the  small  hours  of  the  morning. 

Our  experiences  tHe  next  forenoon  almost  defy 


*  This  medicinal  root  is  to  be  found  throughout  the  North- 
west Territory,  and  the  Doukhobor  women  and  children  have 
gathered  several  thousand  dollars'  worth  each  summer. 


52 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  CANADA. 


description,  for  these  sloughs  were  such  as  Bunjan's 
Pilgrim  never  saw.  Three  times  our  horses  came  to 
a  standstill  in  the  midst  of  sloughs  axle-deep  in  mud, 
and  holding  three  feet  of  water  above  the  clay  which 
underlies  the  eighteen  inches  of  rich  black  soil.  The 
situation  was  novel,  to  say  the  least  of  it.  One  horse 
lay  flat  on  his  side,  holding  his  head  above  the  water, 
while  the  other  sat  like  a  dog  upon  his  haunches. 

The  interesting  part  of  the  situation  was  to  see 
how  admirably  the  horses  understood  the  difficulties 
of  their  position  and  responded  to  the  driver's  word. 
Instead  of  struggling,  they  rested  until  the  driver 
got  out  in  the  mud  and  water  and  released  the  traces, 
when  they  sprang  up  and  plunged  forward  on  to 
more  solid  ground.  A  rope  was  made  fast  to  the 
front  axle,  woimd  around  the  pole  of  the  carriage, 
and  extended  some  fifty  feet  beyond  it.  The  horses 
were  then  attached  to  this  rope,  and  with  some  en- 
couragement from  the  driver  they  pulled  us  out. 
Twice  after  this  we  were  compelled  to  get  out  of  the 
carriage  before  it  could  be  moved  through  the  mud 
of  the  slough. 

Sitting  there  surrounded  by  water,  annoyed  by 
mosquitoes,  pretty  well  covered  with  mud,  and  in  the 
midst  of  a  thunder-storm,  gave  us  ample  opportunity 
to  moralize  upon  the  blessings  of  home.  Xever  were 
'  mortals  more  thankful  to  get  under  a  roof  than  we 
were  that  day  when  we  reached  a  Doukhobor  village 
and  were  taken  into  one  of  their  comfortable  houses, 
where  we  had  our  clothes  dried.    It  is  this  whole- 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


53 


hearted  hospitality  that  impresses  all  who  have  vis- 
ited these  Doukhobors,  and  we  cannot  undervalue 
this  trait,  however  defective  they  may  seem  in  other 
respects. 

This  was  the  village  in  which  my  father  had  some 
three  months  before  found  a  welcome,  after  he  had 
traveled  in  a  circle  for  eight  hours  at  night.  He  was 
at  that  time  on  his  fourth  visit  to  these  settlements, 
and  had  left  this  village  to  go  on  to  the  next  about 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  driver  lost  the  trail, 
and  they  wandered  about  in  the  dark,  until  the  horse 
brought  them  back  to  the  starting-place,  about  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning. 

A  few  hours  brought  us  to  the  home  of  "  Grand- 
mother "  Verigin,  near  the  center  of  the  village  of 
Poterpevshe  (meaning  in  Russian,  "  those  who  have 
patiently  endured  a  veritable  haven  of  rest,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  White  Sand  Eiver.  (See  frontis- 
piece.) This  old  lady  of  eighty-six  is  recognized  by  all 
the  Doukhobors  as  a  queen  among  them.  They  all 
pay  their  oriental  respects  to  her  by  bowing  most  pro- 
foundly. These  salutations  were  often  quite  im- 
pressive, and  accompanied  by  much  sincere  feeling. 

For  three  years  I  had  desired  to  visit  her,  and  to 
hear  her  history  from  her  own  lips.  She  told  me, 
through  my  friend  and  faithful  interpreter,  Michael 
Sherbinin,  how  she  had  married  when  about  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  in  the  Crimean  Colony  of  the 
Milky  Waters,  and  had  lived  there  peaceably  until 
1842,  when,  by  order  of  Mcholas  I.,  she  was  taken 


54 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  CA^'ADA. 


to  the  Caucasus.  The  details  of  this  journey  were 
thrilling. 

She  had  three  little  children,  all  under  eight  years 
of  age,  whom  she  cared  for  as  best  she  could,  while 
their  party  was  driven  along  by  the  soldiers.  When 
they  came  to  the  Caucasian  mountains  there  were  no 
good  roads,  as  at  present,  over  the  mountain  passes; 
and  she  remembered  how  the  thirty  men  in  their 
company  could  scarcely  keep  the  wagons  from  going 
over  the  precipices.  It  was  also  dangerous  for  their 
horses  and  cattle  to  graze,  and  she  would  gather  the 
grass  for  them  with  her  own  hands.  The  Circassians 
and  other  hillsmen  would  throw  stones  down  on  them 
from  the  heights  above  their  heads,  in  more  than  one 
instance  resulting  fatally. 

They  were  finally  made  to  settle  in  the  Wet  Moun- 
tains, at  an  altitude  of  five  thousand  feet.  Even  here 
they  prospered  far  beyond  what  was  thought  possible 
by  their  persecutors. 

One  night  her  husband  was  away  from  home,  and 
her  brother-in-law  was  also  absent  trading  among 
some  Tartars,  who  persuaded  him,  much  against  his 
preference,  to  remain  with  them  over  night.  They 
then  went  to  his  house,  and,  as  she  opened  the  door, 
they  killed  the  vnle  of  the  very  man  they  had  shel- 
tered.   They  thought  they  had  done  as  much  to 

Grandmother,"  for  they  struck  her  four  death-deal- 
ing blows  upon  the  head,  one  of  which  opened  an 
artery,  and  then  kicked  her  under  the  bed  in  a  pool 
of  her  own  blood.   She  rose  up,  however,  and  tried  to 


PEESONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


55 


open  the  window  near  her,  but  the  robbers,  suppos- 
ing it  was  the  effort  of  her  little  boys,  broke  the 
window-shutters  in  her  face.  She  added:  "  Had  they 
known  I  had  gotten  up,  they  would  have  come  back 
and  killed  me." 

When  the  men  entered  the  house  she  had  told  her 
boys  to  keep  very  quiet  on  top  of  the  oven,  and  they 
escaped  being  injured.  They  plainly  saw  the  faces  of 
the  robbers  who  took  ten  thousand  roubles  out  of 
a  strong  box,  so  that  they  were  able  to  identify 
them  at  a  later  time.  "  Grandmother  told  with 
much  feeling  how  her  dear  little  boys  were  asked  to 
go  among  thirty  criminals  and  point  out  those  whom 
they  thought  to  be  the  men  who  had  entered  their 
home  and  nearly  killed  their  mother.  They  desig- 
nated seven,  and  afterward  "  Grandmother  was 
told  to  say  which  they  were,  if  she  could.  She  said 
her  eyes  were  so  nearly  closed  by  the  swelling  re- 
sulting from  her  wounds  that  she  had  to  hold  her 
eye-lids  open  to  see  any  of  them,  and  yet  she  selected 
the  same  seven  that  her  boys  had  indicated,  without 
knowing  their  choice.  The  ten  thousand  roubles 
were  returned  to  the  family. 

"  Grandmother  "  has  had  seven  sons  in  Siberian 
exile  at  one  time.  Her  son  Peter  Verigin  has  been 
their  recognized  leader  for  the  last  seventeen  years. 
He  and  his  brother  Gregory  are  now  liberated,  and 
on  their  way  to  America. 

As  indicating  the  vigor  of  this  old  lady's  mind  the 
reader  may  be  interested  in  a  letter  recently  received 
from  her. 


56 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  CANADA. 


"  Village  Poterpevshe,  llth  mo.  25th,  1902. 

"  My  Dear  Friend,  Joseph  Elkinton : 

"  I  beg  pardon  for  the  delay  in  answering  your 
kindest  letter  which  I  received  this  autumn.  Be 
assured  that  I  had  the  greatest  desire  to  answer  you 
immediately,  but  it  is  only  now  that  I  availed  myself 
of  the  opportunity  to  express  to  you  the  deepest 
gratitude  and  love  for  your  extreme  goodness,  mani- 
fested by  you  towards  us  from  our  first  meeting. 

God  bless  you  for  all  your  generosity,  and  I  ask 
His  favor  to  be  worthy  of  it  and  to  give  me  the  pos- 
sibility to  see  you  again  in  my  life.  I  pray  to  God 
for  your  health,  and  hope  He  will  preserve  you  for 
the  happiness  of  all  our  people. 

"  I  am  extremely  sorry  to  confess  that  a  part  of 
us  vex  all  our  benefactors  and  friends  by  their  fool- 
ish actions,  but  I  hope  that  (our)  Creator  will  en- 
lighten their  reason  and  help  us  to  arrange  our  com- 
mon life  in  the  best  way.  The  Lord  had  pity  on  me 
and  sent  me  a  great  consolation — my  son  Gregory, 
who  came  recently  from  Siberia,  and  the  joyful  news 
that  my  other  beloved  son  Peter  *  is  on  the  way  to 
Canada.  I  am  sure  you  will  partake  of  my  hearty 
rejoicing  and  accept  the  humble  compliment  of  your 
devoted  [friend]  truthfully, 

"  Baboshka  (Grandmother) 

"  Anastasia  Vassilinovna  Yerigina. 


*  See  page  68  for  account  of  the  arrival  of  Peter  Verigin. 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


57 


"  P.S.— This  letter  has  been  written  by  T.  Dick- 
ericks,  the  brother-in-law  of  V.  Tchertkov,  who 
came  from  England  to  stay  the  winter  with  this  (our) 
people,  and  help  them  in  their  needs,  and  he  is  very 
glad  to  have  the  opportunity  to  express  to  you,  dear 
sir,  his  thankfulness  for  all  the  care  and  trouble  that 
you  and  your  venerable  father  took  during  the  first  j 
time  of  settlement  of  his  old  friends,  the  Doukho- 
bors.'^ 

"  Grandmother's household,  in  which  I  spent 
three  happy  days,  was  composed  of  "  Grandmother," 
her  daughter  Anna  Podovinnikov,  and  three  daugh- 
ters-in-law, with  three  grandchildren.  This  house 
was  very  comfortable,  and  attractively  clean.  It  was 
built  of  logs,  some  thirty  by  fifteen  feet,  one-storied, 
and  plastered  inside  and  out.  The  inside  was  white- 
washed so  beautifully  one  always  felt  sure  of  abso- 
lute cleanliness,  and  this  is  characteristic  of  their 
houses  in  general.  The  beds  were  made  of  feathers. 
The  chief  room  was  eighteen  by  twelve  feet,  with 
the  usual  oven  in  the  corner,  near  which  I  slept  most 
comfortably.  This  room  is  back  of  the  group  on  the 
porch.  A  vestibule  six  feet  square  allows  the  visitor 
either  to  enter  this  apartment,  or,  turning  to  the 
right  through  a  similar  door,  to  step  into  "  Grand- 
mother's "  smaller  room.  Here  she  sat  in  the  finely 
upholstered  chair  seen  in  the  frontispiece,  to  receive 
her  guests  in  queenly  fashion. 

The  patriarch,  Ivan  Mahortov,  met  me  here,  hav- 


58 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  CANADA. 


ing  come  thirty-five  miles  to  see  me.  He  is  the  most 
active  man  of  ninety  years  I  ever  met,  and  I  shall 
not  easily  forget  his  energetic  manner  when  telling 
us  of  Stephen  Grellet's  and  William  Allen's  visit  to 
the  Doukhobors  in  1818.  After  hearing  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  two  Friends,  I  am  quite  disposed  to  think 
that  it  was  William  Allen  rather  than  Stephen  Grel- 
let  who  prophesied  concerning  their  coming  to 
America. 

It  was  certainly  a  very  remarkable  utterance  for 
any  one  to  prophesy  so  clearly,  eighty  years  in  ad- 
vance, the  future  experience  of  a  people,  telling  of 
their  future  persecutions,  imprisonments,  exile  to  a 
foreign  country,  prosperity  and  visits  from  Friends. 

The  Patriarch  gave  us  some  of  his  experiences 
during  the  twenty-eight  years  he  served  in  the  Rus- 
sian !N'avy.  From  1840  to  1853  he  had  no  active  ser- 
vice. Then  the  Crimean  War  opened,  and  he  was  sta- 
tioned on  the  warship  Catharine  II.,  then  anchored 
off  Sevastapol.  The  high  officials  of  that  town,  with 
the  officers  of  the  Russian  Army  and  ]^avy,  were 
gathered  in  the  Greek  cathedral,  hallowing  the 
Easter  service,  when  the  English  threw  a  cannon  ball 
at  the  cupola,  and  shattered  it  over  their  heads — 
without,  however,  injuring  the  congregation.  The 
Russian  ship  Northern  Star  was  at  once  ordered  to 
prepare  for  action  by  Commander-in-Chief  Lazarev. 
A  shot  from  the  English  man-of-war  disabled  her 
side-wheel,  and  it  was  proceeding  to  capture  her,  when 
two  Russian  frigates  came  upon  the  scene  and  tugged 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


59 


her  out  of  danger.  Thus  two  of  the  greatest  "  Chris- 
tian "  nations  celebrated  the  resurrection  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-three ! 

When  the  old  Slavonic  inscription  over  the 
cathedral  door  in  St.  Petersburg:  "  My  house  shall 
be  called  a  house  of  Prayer  for  all  Nations,"  was 
mentioned,  this  veteran  of  ninety  summers  naively 
remarked,  "  Yes,  and  my  countrymen  have  many  a 
time  fulfilled  the  rest  of  the  text." 

He  was  in  the  engagement  when  the  Russian 
fleet  sank  nine  out  of  ten  of  the  Turkish  men-of-war 
at  Sinope,  in  the  Black  Sea. 

The  united  fleets  of  England,  France  and  Tur- 
key then  concentrated  their  attack  on  Sevastopol,  an- 
choring at  Eupatoria.  As  the  Russians  had  no 
mounted  artillery,  the  Russian  sailors  carried  their 
guns  and  cannon  on  shore.  Ivan  Mahortov  well  re- 
members the  difficulty  of  bearing  a  cannon  thus 
strapped  upon  his  back.  Two  Russian  admirals, 
brothers,  by  the  name  of  Estomin,  planned  a  success- 
ful stratagem  at  this  time,  when  they  were  likely  to 
be  overpowered.  A  courier  was  dispatched  to  the 
Emperor  Xicholas  stating  there  were  sixty  thousand 
Russian  soldiers  in  reserve  to  meet  the  allied  forces 
at  Sevastopol,  when  in  fact  there  were  only  twenty 
thousand.  He  was  sent  through  the  enemy's  lines, 
duly  captured  and  searched,  and  the  Russians  were 
allowed  to  withdraw  their  troops  from  Sevastopol 
without  capture  because  of  this  misrepresentation. 


60 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


Mahortov  said:  "  At  least  three  times  during  the 
siege  of  the  city,  when  the  batteries  on  either  side 
were  decimating  the  ranks  of  the  other,  and  these 
were  being  immediately  replaced,  he  heard  repeat- 
edly the  appeals  from  the  enemy  in  these  words: 
^  Brethren,  Euss  (Eussians)  don't  hit — fire  aside  ' ; 
and  the  Eussians  responded,  '  Fire  aside,  brother.'  " 

After  this,"  the  old  man  told  us,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  "  there  was  no  more  such  carnage,  and  would 
to  God  that  men  and  angels  might  never  witness  such 
hellish  work  again !  " 

He  related  another  instance  of  that  humanity 
which  will  ever  assert  itself  while  men  are  men,  even 
when  their  rulers  are  compelling  them  to  act  as  de- 
stroyers. The  commander  of  his  ship  detailed  him  to 
visit  a  small  detachment  of  the  ship's  crew,  who  had 
been  stationed  on  the  land  to  raise  some  vegetables 
in  the  Oushakova  ravine.  These  Eussian  sailors  had 
been  captured  by  the  English  and  their  comrade  took 
tremendous  risks  in  stealing  his  way  through  three 
picket  lines  at  night,  especially  as  it  was  "  in  the  very 
hottest  times  of  the  war.'*  "  One  of  my  brethren 
found  me  secreted  in  the  bush  near  their  station  and 
threw  his  arms  around  my  neck.  After  enquiring  for 
their  health,  I  asked  whether  they  had  any  food  for 
themselves.  ^  Oh !  yes,  the  English  send  us  coffee, 
bread  and  butter  in  the  morning,  and  the  same  food 
they  have  themselves  twice  a  day  beside  this.'  And 
then  they  tell  us,  ^  Don't  be  afraid;  we  won't  harm 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


61 


you;  it  is  only  Victoria  and  Nicholas  who  are  guilty 
in  this  business.'  " 

Mahortov  was  secreted  during  the  day,  and  when 
night  came  he  led  his  brethren  back  to  the  ship  with 
remarkable  success  through  the  same  dangers  he  had 
braved  alone.  He  said:  "  I  always  served  in  arms  un- 
der a  silent  protest,  having  a  conviction  that  all  war  i 
is  wrong  and  I  never  aimed  directly  at  the  enemy." 
When  asked  how  the  higher  officers  regarded  this 
sort  of  action,  he  exclaimed :  "  Oh !  they  had  no  time 
to  take  notice  of  that,  but  were  only  too  glad  to  hide 
behind  my  back."  Once,  however,  when  master  of  a 
"  top-sail  "  crew,  who  were  somewhat  noisy,  the  Cap- 
tain's mate  shouted,  "  Come  down,  Mahortov,"  and 
when  he  came  down  from  the  yard-arm  he  was  or- 
dered to  take  off  his  jacket  and  to  receive  one  hun- 
dred lashes ;  this  was  repeated  twice  on  his  bare  back, 
and  thus  he  received  three  hundred  lashes  during  an 
hour  for  no  neglect  of  duty,  of  which  he  was  con- 
sciously guilty. 

This  dear  old  man  gathered  the  children  of  Poter- 
pevshe  around  him  and  taught  them  the  hymns  which 
form  so  important  a  part  of  their  education.  As  I 
approached  this  group  I  thought  I  had  never  seen 
just  such  animation  on  the  part  of  an  instructor  as 
Ivan  Mahortov  displayed  as  he  led,  corrected  and 
praised  his  pupils.  The  well  at  the  rear  is  in 
"  Grandmother's  "  yard,  and  serves  the  whole  vil- 
lage. It  was  about  fifty  feet  deep,  and  had  a  ring 
of  ice  in  it  fifteen  feet  below  the  top.   One  could  but 


62 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


think  of  "  the  time  that  women  go  out  to  draw 
water in  the  city  of  ^sTahor,  as  these  Doukhobor 
women  and  maidens  came  each  evening  to  fill  their 
tin  pails.  Only  the  camels  were  lacking,  and  instead 
of  the  pitchers  or  jars  balanced  on  their  heads  they 
carried  the  buckets  on  either  end  of  a  pole  thrown 
over  their  shoulders. 

Another  group  of  children  in  front  of  a  sawmill 
gives  some  idea  of  their  faces.  The  logs  are  all  sawn 
into  slabs  in  this  fashion.  (See  page  57.) 

We  soon  went  into  conference  with  about  one  hun- 
dred delegates  from  the  South  Colony,  and  those  of 
Swan  River,  to  talk  over  their  homestead  interests. 
It  was  most  interesting  to  see  the  delegates  bow  pro- 
foundly to  the  old  lady. 

As  we  went  out  of  "  Grandmother's  "  door,  the 
patriarch  said,  in  referring  to  the  Doukhobors'  hesi- 
tation about  taking  up  their  homesteads:  "  A  scared 
hare  is  afraid  of  every  stump,"  and  it  was  very  ap- 
propriate to  the  assembled  delegates. 

I  addressed  these  delegates  from  the  porch  rail, 
where  the  old  patriarch  stands  by  the  side  of 

Grandmother  "  (see  page  60)  and  her  noble  daugh- 
ter, Anna  Podovinnikov,  with  the  other  members  of 
her  household  on  either  side  of  him.  After  several 
conferences  near  "  Grandmother's "  house,  during 
which  it  was  difficult  to  get  their  signatures  for  any 
purpose,  "  Grandmother  "  said  to  me,  through  her 
daughter-in-law,  she  was  sorry  the  delegates  were  so 
unresponsive,  and  she  hoped  I  would  overlook  any- 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


63 


thing  that  might  have  seemed  discourteous,  for  she 
and  all  her  household  were  thankful  for  my  visit,  and 
glad  to  learn  what  I  told  them  of  Canadian  law. 

The  Commissioner  of  Immigration  and  ex-Com- 
missioner William  F.  McCrearj  had  requested  us  to 
interpret  that  law  to  them  and  to  bring  three  repre- 
sentative men  back  to  Winnipeg  to  talk  over  their 
interests,  which  we  did. 

If  the  women  in  these  communities  could  have  the 
deciding  vote,  many  things  would  be  better  managed, 
and  probably  all  the  late  fanaticism  would  not  have 
been  heard  of. 

The  man  in  his  shirt  sleeves  at  the  extreme  right 
in  the  photograph  of  "  Grandmother's "  house  is 
Ivan  Podovinnikov,  who  lodged  with  Michael  Sher- 
binin  and  myself  during  our  stay  in  this  village,  and 
was  most  attentive  and  helpful.  I  cannot  cease  to 
thank  him  for  putting  me  through  a  Russian  bath — 
the  most  complete  cure  for  a  cold  I  ever  tried. 

The  bath-house,  some  twelve  feet  square,  was  in 
"  Grandmother's  "  yard.  An  ante-chamber,  three 
feet  wide  and  the  width  of  the  building,  had  clean 
straw  nicely  distributed  on  the  floor.  Entering  the 
larger  room  one  saw  a  neat  pile  of  stones  about  two 
and  a  half  feet  high  in  the  corner.  These  had  been 
previously  heated  by  a  fire  applied  through  the  wall 
separating  the  two  apartments,  and  there  was  no 
smoke.  A  slab  three  feet  wide,  extending  the  entire 
width  of  the  building,  was  supported  some  five  feet 
above  the  floor,  as  a  shelf,  upon  which  the  bather 


64 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  CANADA. 


was  invited  to  lie  down.  Two  or  three  cups  of  water 
were  then  thrown  upon  the  hot  stones,  and  the  steam 
generated  thereby  was  enough  to  smother  or  cleanse 
a  dozen  men.  While  immersed  in  this  steam  bath  he 
received  the  best  switching  of  his  life  from  a  bunch 
of  birch  leaves,  applied  so  dexterously  that  the  cir- 
culation was  quickened  to  an  incredible  degree. 

By  taking  a  basin  of  cold  water,  and  keeping  the 
water  constantly  splashed  in  one's  face,  I  found  it 
possible  to  endure  this  operation  for  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes,  during  which  time  Ivan  would  repeatedly 
look  most  tenderly  into  my  face,  and  anxiously  in- 
quire, "  Enough  ?  enough  ?  more  ?  little  more  ?  " 
After  going  out  to  cool  down  on  the  clean  straw  this 
process  was  repeated  once  or  twice,  and  then,  with 
alternate  dashes  of  cold  and  hot  water,  the  patient 
was  dismissed,  and  wrapped  up  in  a  warm  blanket, 
under  which  he  remained  the  rest  of  the  night. 

All  the  Doukhobors  bathe  in  these  houses  at  least 
once  a  week,  and  they  are  very  clean  in  their  per- 
sonal habits.  I  remember  speaking  to  some  of  them 
because  their  faces  were  fairly  shining  with  cleanli- 
ness and  glowing  with  color,  saying,  "  I  suppose  you 
have  been  picking  strawberries  on  the  prairie  all 
day,"  and  they  replied,  "  Oh,  no !  we  have  just  been 
in  the  bath." 

Before  leaving  this  village,  so  full  of  interesting 
people,  I  took  some  photographs  of  family  groups. 
Three  out  of  four  wished  to  send  these  "  snaps  "  to 
their  loved  ones  in  Siberian  exile. 


COPYRIGHT,    1903,    BY    JOSEPH  ELKINTON. 


COPYRIGHT,    1903,    BY    JOSEPH  ELKINTON. 

Families  of  exiles,  showing  Persian  rugs  brought  by  thera 
from  the  Caucasus. 


PEBSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


65 


One  of  these  includes  an  aged  mother  of  the  exiled 
husband  and  father.  The  wife  stands  ia  the  rear  and 
to  the  left  of  her  five  daughters,  who  range  in  age 
from  twenty  to  ten  years  of  age.  One  of  the  three 
wore  an  American  straw  hat,  which  she  wished  her 
father  to  see. 

Another  group  shows  the  wife,  whose  husband  is 
in  exile,  with  her  three  married  daughters.  The  Per- 
sian rugs  under  their  feet  were  brought  from  the 
Caucasus. 

A  third  has  six  children  in  it,  and  was  solicited 
very  earnestly  by  them  for  their  father.  This  house 
is  a  half  dug-out.  The  crop  of  weeds  on  the  roof  was 
very  luxuriant.  These  dug-outs  were  very  damp  and 
dark  within,  somewhat  reminding  one  of  a  cave.  In 
one  village  I  saw  a  cow  walk  up  one  of  these 
roofs  and  look  around  with  apparent  satisfaction. 

A  fourth  family  group  of  a  man  and  his  wife  with 
two  married  daughters  is  typical  for  size. 

Ivan  Mahortov  sits  in  "  Grandmother's  surrey 
on  the  front  seat,  while  the  old  lady  and  her  daugh- 
ter occupy  the  rear  seat.  This  carriage  was  given  to 
her  by  the  Doukhobors  as  a  special  token  of  affection, 
and  she  insisted  upon  my  father  using  it  last  spring, 
when  the  frost  was  coming  out  of  the  ground,  with 
the  result  that  it  was  broken  pretty  much  to  pieces. 
But  when  I  found  it  in  the  village  shed,  alongside  of 
a  Deering  reaper  and  binder,  it  looked  as  if  it  had 
never  been  used.  I  put  as  many  girls  as  I  could  on 
the  two  seats,  and  asked  the  boys  of  Poterpevshe  to 


66 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  CA^fADA. 


give  them  a  ride,  which  they  did  with  great  glee, 
bringing  the  surrev  to  Grandmother's  door.  She  was 
then  willing  to  get  into  it  to  be  photographed. 

The  last  group  of  five  women  and  four  children  is 
the  household  of  Barbara  Verigin  (**  Grandmoth- 
ers "  daughter-in-law),  in  the  village  of  Bedesofka. 
She  stands  with  hand  upon  the  post.  This  was 
the  last  Doukhobor  dwelling  we  lodged  in,  and 
the  kindness  of  our  hostess,  as  well  as  that  of  all 
of  her  family,  will  be  remembered  as  long  as  memory 
lasts.  She  was  a  true  disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  her  loving  spirit  created  the  atmosphere 
of  her  household.  Three  of  her  daughters-in-law 
were  under  twenty-five  years  of  age,  while  the  fourth 
— the  mother  of  the  four  children — is  imder  forty. 
The  husband  of  this  daughter  was  killed  on  the  rail- 
road soon  after  coming  to  America.  This  was  a  ter- 
rible blow  to  the  family,  as  his  father  died  in  Si- 
berian exile  about  the  same  time. 

Whatever  may  be  the  opinions  of  those  who  do 
not  know  the  virtues  of  these  Russians  by  actual 
acquaintance,  we  who  have  had  the  privilege  of 
learning  of  their  personal  experience  from  their  own 
lips,  and  have  been  witnesses  of  their  self-sacrificing 
devotion  to  a  high  principle,  and  their  affection  one 
for  another,  must  believe  in  them  and  their  future. 

About  seventy-five  years  ago  the  "  True  Inspira- 
tion Society,"  a  commimistic  society  of  Germans, 
came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Eastern  Iowa,  in  five 
villages,  numbering  a  few  thousand  souls.  They  have 


COPYRIGHT,     1903,     BY    JOSEPH  ELKINTON. 

Barbara  Yerigin  and  her  household. 


PEBSO^^AL  EXPERIENCES. 


67 


prospered  wonderfully,  and  have  become  recognized 
as  amongst  the  most  successful  and  moral  communi- 
ties of  that  State.  When  I  visited  them  twenty-five 
years  ago  their  farming  and  manufacturing  indus- 
tries were  carried  on  in  the  most  approved  way.  We 
believe  these  Russians,  who  have  escaped  to  this  con- 
tinent after  a  century  of  persecution,  will,  in  another 
generation,  prove  no  less  prosperous. 

Indeed,  they  have  prospered  remarkably  already, 
as  their  comfortable  homes  and  neat  surroundings, 
full  grain  houses  and  numerous  flocks,  show.  One 
cannot  but  admire  their  kindness  to  their  less-favored 
neighbors.  Time  and  again  they  have  loaded  up  their 
wagons  with  food  and  clothing,  and  for  whole  days 
driven  in  search  of  the  Galicians'  homesteads,  where 
they  thought  there  was  suffering  for  want  of  these 
things. 

As  we  were  passing  one  of  these  poverty-stricken 
households,  the  mother  besought  me  to  baptize  her 
youngest  child.  I  tried  to  explain  the  one  saving 
baptism  of  spiritual  life  in  her  soul,  as  best  I  could 
through  my  friend  Michael  Sherbinin,  when  our 
Doukhobor  driver,  who  could  also  speak  the  Galician 
dialect,  turned  to  her,  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  be- 
sought her  to  find  the  Saviour  in  her  own  heart.  His 
whole  face  was  radiant  with  the  love  of  God  as  he 
told  her  that  the  baptism  the  child  needed,  Christ 
alone  could  bestow. 

It  is  a  scene  that  continually  comes  back  to  my 
mind  as  one  of  the  most  impressive  I  witnessed  while 
in  the  ITorthwest  Territories.    We  were  in  a  farm 


68 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  CANADA. 


wagon,  traveling  across  the  prairie.  This  Galician 
family  had  just  come  to  settle  in  a  house  scarcely  fit 
for  cattle  to  occupy.  The  roof  was  made  of  turf,  and 
was  partly  fallen  in.  The  mother  was  surrounded  by 
six  or  eight  little  children,  while  her  husband  stood 
at  her  side,  apparently  much  discouraged  by  their 
situation.  It  was  raining,  and  the  mosquitoes  were 
terrible.  We  stopped  to  exchange  a  few  words  of 
sympathy  with  them,  and  to  leave  them  some  money. 
Then  it  was  that  this  poor  woman  appealed  to  me  in 
behalf  of  her  baby.  Her  face  was  the  picture  of  dis- 
tress for  fear  the  child  might  die  before  it  was  bap- 
tized. I  suppose  they  mistook  me  for  a  Greek  priest, 
as  I  had  on  a  Circassian  goatskin  cloak. 

Before  we  left  her  her  expression  was  more  com- 
fortable, but  such  is  the  ignorance  of  these  Galicians 
that  we  felt  she  only  half  comprehended  our  ideas  of 
baptism. 

As  a  pleasing  finale  to  this  chapter  of  my  personal 
experiences,  I  insert  an  extract  from  the  Manitoba 
Free  Press,  Twelfth  month  23d,  1902,  giving  an  ac- 
count of  the  long-looked-for  arrival  of  the  Doukho- 
bor  leader,  Peter  Verigin,  although  as  a  matter  of 
fact  it  occurred  some  months  after  I  had  returned  to 
my  home  in  Philadelphia: 

"  For  hours  before  the  train  from  the  east  pulled 
in  yesterday  afternoon,  a  woman  promenaded  the 
platform  awaiting  its  arrival.  She  was  awaiting  her 
brother,  whom  she  had  not  seen  for  fifteen  years. 
When,  at  a  little  before  three  o'clock,  the  train  drew 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


69 


in,  there  alighted  from  one  of  the  front  coaches  a  tall, 
quiet-looking  man,  carrying  a  black  leather  valise 
studded  with  nickel  bosses  arranged  in  curious  de- 
sign. A  dark  blue  gaberdine  reached  half  way  to  the 
knees;  over  his  trousers  were  fastened  close-fitting, 
dark-gray  leggings,  piped  at  the  edges  with  black 
cloth.  His  headgear  was  a  black  fedora.  Around  his 
neck  he  wore  a  long  cord,  fastened  to  which  were  a 
heavy  silver  watch  and  a  richly-chased  gold  pencil. 
Alongside  the  watch  pocket  was  a  fountain  pen, 
secured  by  loops  of  the  cloth. 

"  The  traveler  was  Peter  Yerigin,  newly  come  to 
Canada  after  fifteen  years  of  Siberian  exile.  The 
woman  awaiting  him  was  his  sister. 

"  In  the  crush  of  Christmas  travel  it  was  some  time 
before  those  looking  for  the  new  arrival  could  find 
the  object  of  their  search.  Accompanied  by  inter- 
preter Harvey,  who  had  gone  east  to  meet  Verigin, 
and  by  Ewan  Ivan,  Paul  Planidin  and  Simeon  Rieben, 
three  Doukhobors  who  had  been  deputed  by  the  com- 
munities to  extend  to  the  Doukhobor  leader  a  wel- 
come on  his  arrival,  Verigin  walked  eastward  along 
the  platform. 

"  His  sister  saw  him,  standing  half  a  head  taller 
than  the  average,  and  ran  towards  him,  followed  by 
the  other  waiting  Doukhobors,  with  joyful  cries. 
Verigin  dropped  his  valise,  took  off  his  hat,  opened 
his  arms,  and  cried,  '  Anna !  '  He  kissed  his  sister 
and  the  others,  and  quietly  walked  on  toward  the  im- 
migration buildings,  being  introduced  on  the  way  to 


70 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANAEA. 


Mr.  H.  P.  Archer,  of  Swan  Kiver;  to  Immigration 
Agent  Crerar,  of  Yorkton — both  of  whom  have  been 
for  days  in  the  city  awaiting  his  coming;  to  Mrs. 
Almanovsky,  who  acted  as  interpreter,  and  to  the 
Free  Press  representative. 

On  the  party^s  arriving  at  the  immigration  build- 
ings, Verigin  was  shown  the  room  set  apart  for  his 
use.  Here  he  spent  a  little  time  chatting  with  his 
sister  and  friends,  inquiring  after  his  mother,  who 
is  eighty-six  years  of  age,  and  who  lives  at  Poterpev- 
she  village  with  his  sister,  whose  full  name  is  Anna 
Yasilievna  Podovinnikov.  Then,  after  the  baggage 
had  been  packed  away  and  the  foregoing  domestic  in- 
quiries made,  the  party  moved  downstairs  to  Acting 
Commissioner  Moffatt's  office. 

"  Mr.  Moffatt  greeted  Verigin  warmly,  welcoming 
him  to  the  west  in  the  name  of  the  Dominion  authori- 
ties. In  answer  to  his  inquiries  as  to  his  voyage, 
Verigin  said  it  was  a  long  journey — good,  but  rough. 
He  had  sailed  from  Liverpool,  after  crossing  Europe 
from  Moscow  to  Warsaw,  and  thence  to  England. 

*  You'll  be  glad  to  be  in  a  country,'  said  Mr.  Mof- 
f att,  '  where  there,  is  religious  and  individual  free- 
dom.' 

"  ^  I  haven't  looked  round  yet,'  answered  Verigin, 
through  the  interpreter,  ^  so  I  cannot  yet  tell  whether 
this  is  a  free  country  or  not.' 

"  ^  You  know,  however,'  said  Mr.  Moffatt,  *  that  in 
Canada  we  do  not  put  people  in  prison  because  of 
their  political  or  religious  views.' 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


71 


"  '  Oh,  yes/  answered  Verigin,  '  I  know  that/ 

"  ^  People  have  been  looking  for  your  coming  for 
a  long  time/  said  Agent  Crerar.  '  There  are  three 
hundred  Doukhobors  at  Yorkton  station,  watching 
every  train  for  you.  And  there  is  one  person  very 
anxious  to  see  you, — your  mother.' 

"  Verigin  had  up  to  that  time  been  quietly  cour- 
teous and  dignified;  but  here  his  manner  underwent 
a  change,  becoming  alertly  interested.  '  Did  you  see 
my  mother;  yes?'  he  asked.  ^  When  did  you  see 
her?   Was  she  well?' 

"  Mr.  Crerar  satisfied  him  on  these  points,  and 
then  Verigin  asked  him  when  the  train  could  take 
him  there.  ^  I  am  in  a  hurry  to  see  my  mother,'  he 
said.  ^  There  is  no  train  till  to-morrow ;  yes  ?  I 
would  go  to-day  if  I  could;  yes!  ' 

Then  he  realized  that  perhaps  he  might  be  tak- 
ing up  too  much  of  the  Commissioner's  time.  '  Shall 
I  see  you  again,  yes  ? '  he  asked.  ^  You  are  perhaps 
now  too  occupied.' 

"  Being  assured  on  this  point,  Mr.  Moffatt  asked 
him  concerning  his  visit  to  Ottawa. 

'  I  couldn't  talk  much  business,'  he  said,  '  for  I 
have  not  seen  the  Doukhobors.  Of  myself  I  know 
nothing  of  their  troubles — only  of  what  I  have  heard. 
They  tell  me  the  people  would  not  take  up  their 
homestead  lands.' 

"  '  Did  you  hear  of  the  pilgrimage  ? '  asked  Mr. 
Crerar,  '  and  of  the  action  taken  by  the  government 
to  prevent  the  pilgrims  from  being  frozen  to  death  \ ' 


72 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IN  CANADA. 


"  '  I  have  not  heard  any  particulars/  answered 
Yerigin.  ^  It  was  in  print  in  the  Kussian  papers. 
Thej  said  that  two  hundred  people  were  frozen  to 
death.' 

"  Mr.  Crerar  told  him  that  this  was  entirely  false. 
Pointing  to  the  Free  Press  representative — who  was 
the  only  newspaper  man  present  at  the  interview — 
Mr.  Crerar  told  Verigin  that  he  had  accompanied  the 
pilgrims  throughout  their  wanderings,  and  personally 
knew  of  all  the  facts  in  connection  therewith.  '  Is 
that  so,  yes  ? '  said  Verigin.  ^  I  shall  have  much  to 
ask  him.' 

"  Throughout  the  interview  Verigin  said  little, 
only  speaking  in  reply  to  questions,  and  allowing  the 
others  to  do  the  talking.  His  manner  was  marked 
with  a  natural  courtesy  and  simple  dignity  that 
would  single  him  out  for  notice  anywhere.  His  voice 
is  low,  and  of  a  singular  sweetness.  Physically,  Veri- 
gin is  a  splendid  type  of  his  race.  Tall  and  strongly 
built,  and  of  erect  and  graceful  carriage,  he  would 
attract  attention  among  hundreds  of  good-looking 
men.  His  features  are  regular,  and  his  skin  of  an 
olive  pallor.  His  hair  and  beard — which  is  luxuriant 
— are  black  as  jet.  His  eyes  are  dark  and  thought- 
ful, and  his  whole  expression  that  of  a  man  who  has 
suffered  much,  and  has  triumphed  over  everything 
through  the  force  of  kingly  courage  and  constancy. 

It  was  evident  that  he  would  make  no  statement 
as  to  his  future  actions,  or  the  counsel  he  would  give 
the  Doukhobors,  who  for  months  have  been  anx- 


Arrival  of  Peter  Verigin  at  Terpenie. 


ierpeiiie   i White  Sand  Kiver),  the  Model  Village. 
(Photographs  by  T.  V.  Simpson, 


Winter  Scenes  in  the  Doukhobor  Villages. 
(PhoiMgraphs  by  T.  V.  Simpson,  V.S.> 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


73 


iously  awaiting  his  coming,  till  he  had  personally 
familiarized  himself  with  every  phase  of  the  situa- 
tion. Mr.  Moffatt,  indeed,  and  wisely,  did  not  at- 
tempt to  draw  from  Yerigin  any  statement.  '  You 
will  know  all  about  the  troubles  the  government  has 
had  w^ith  the  Doukhobors,'  he  said,  ^  when  you  get 
among  them.  We  all  hope  your  coming  may  have  a  j 
very  good  effect.  We  will  do  anything  possible  to 
help  you.  You  must  be  tired  after  your  long  jour- 
ney. And  you  must  be  hungry.  So  now  I'll  say 
good-bye  to  you,  and  wish  you  a  safe  journey  to  your 
mother  to-morrow.' 

"  Yerigin  listened  gravely,  and  when  this  was 
translated,  rose  and  shook  hands  with  the  Commis- 
sioner. ^  I  thank  you  much,'  said  he ;  '  I  hope  my 
coming  may  be  good.  I  hope  so,  indeed,'  and  so  went 
upstairs  to  his  room. 

"  In  a  few  minutes  a  message  was  sent  down  to  the 
Free  Press  man,  asking  him  to  join  Yerigin  in  the  lat- 
ter's  room.  The  reporter  found  Planidin,  Rieben  and 
Yerigin's  sister  busy  in  preparing  a  meal  for  the  trav- 
eler. Yerigin  sat  in  an  armchair,  and,  after  welcom- 
ing the  newspaper  man,  resumed  his  conversation 
with  Mrs.  Almanovsky,  asking  many  questions  as  to 
the  location  of  the  different  Doukhobor  villages  and 
communities.  Before  he  had  concluded.  Agent 
Crerar  came  up  to  ascertain  if  Yerigin  would  stay 
long  in  Yorkton.  Representative  Doukhobors  from 
every  callage  in  Yorkton  and  Swan  River  colonies 
were  there,  and  the  government  desired  to  have  a  list 


74 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


compiled  of  all  the  Doukhobors  eligible  for  home- 
steads, the  number  of  those  willing  to  take  up  land, 
the  number  of  those  who  had  already  made  entry, 
and  the  reasons  for  not  making  entry  on  the  part  of 
those  who  refused.  Verigin  said  he  did  not  want  to 
delay  to  hold  any  such  conference  at  the  present 
time, — he  wanted  to  get  to  the  village  where  his 
mother  was. 

^'  ^  Couldn't  all  these  people  see  me  to-morrow 
night  ? '  he  asked.  But  it  was  explained  that  the 
train  did  not  arrive  till  late.  ^  Then  let  it  be  in  two 
or  three  weeks,'  he  said. 

"  The  conversation  drifted  to  Russian  topics.  Mr. 
Crerar  said  that  he  had  heard  the  Czar  proposed  re- 
leasing all  Siberian  exiles  at  the  Xew  Year.  Verigin 
laughed  heartily.  ^  You  must  have  read  that  in  a 
newspaper,'  he  said;  ^  what  is  said  in  newspapers  is 
not  always  true.  It  is  only  the  students  that  are 
going  to  be  released.' 

He  was  asked  to  say  something  concerning  his 
life  in  exile.  ^  That  would  be  a  long  story,'  he  said. 
'  If  I  could  talk  English  I  should  much  like  to  tell 
you.  But  you  cannot  always  trust  interpreters.  I 
was  sent  to  exile  from  the  Caucasus  for  five  years; 
when  that  was  passed  I  was  sentenced  for  another 
five  years,  and  when  that,  too,  had  gone,  I  was  given 
yet  another  five  years.  When  I  was  allowed  to  go 
free  I  wanted  to  go  to  the  Caucasus  to  see  my  wife 
and  son,  but  the  government  would  not  allow  me,  nor 
Vvould  they  allow  them  to  come  to  see  me.  They 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 


might  have  come  to  Canada  with  the  Doukhobors 
four  years  ago,  but  they  would  not,  because  it  would 
take  them  farther  from  me,  and  I  do  not  know 
whether  the  government  will  give  them  passports  to 
come  to  Canada,  and  perhaps  I  shall  never  see  them/ 
"  As  Verigin  talked  of  his  wife  his  voice  broke 
several  times.  He  sprang  up  from  his  chair,  and 
paced  up  and  down  the  room  while  speaking  of  them, 
and  it  was  some  minutes  before  he  regained  his  com- 
posure. 

"  ^  What  did  you  do  while  in  exile  ? '  next  asked 
the  reporter. 

"  ^  Do  ? '  repeated  Verigin,  ^  why,  we  ate  and  slept, 
of  course.  I  used  an  axe,  and  carpentered,  and  built 
stores.  We  had  all  to  earn  our  own  living,  for  the 
Russian  government  allows  nothing  for  the  suste- 
nance of  its  exiles.  Many  times  I  asked  for  a  trial, 
but  it  was  always  refused.  I  was  never  condemned 
by  a  judge,  or  by  due  process  of  law,  but  by  an  "  ad- 
ministrative order of  the  government,  which  en- 
ables them  to  detain  any  person  objectionable  to  it.' 

"  ^  Are  the  reports  of  cruelty  and  ill-usage  of  the 
exiles,  of  which  we  sometimes  hear,  true  ? ' 

"  ^  In  what  way  you  mean,  ill-use  ? '  answered 
Verigin.  ^  The  exiles  are  sent  to  a  village.  They 
have  to  walk  all  the  way.  If  they  are  tired  and  fall 
behind,  they  are  beaten.  If  they  try  to  run  away 
they  are  shot.  If  they  go  outside  the  village  boun- 
daries they  are  punished — maybe  sent  down  the 
mines.' 


76 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IX  CANADA. 


"  At  Moscow,  Verigin  saw  Count  Tolstoi,  who  was 
rejoiced  at  his  release.  '  I  wonder  if  the  government 
hasn't  made  a  mistake,'  he  said;  ^  you'd  better  get  to 
Canada  soon,  for  they  may  change  their  minds  and 
give  you  another  five  years.' 

By  this  time  Verigin's  sister  and  the  others  had 
completed  their  preparations  for  the  meal.  The  ket- 
tle was  set  on  the  white  table  cloth,  woven  by  the 
Doukhobor  women — (it  was  spotlessly  clean  and  did 
not  soil  it  in  the  least) — to  use  as  a  samovar.  Bread 
and  jam  were  the  staples.  Loaf  sugar  was  poured 
out  on  a  plate,  and  eaten  as  a  relish.  During  the 
progress  of  the  repast,  Verigin  chatted  with  perfect 
ease  on  general  topics.  He  said  he  wanted  to  take  a 
walk  around  the  city  that  evening,  as  his  Doukhobor 
friends  had  often  written  to  him  of  its  marvels.  He 
looked  with  some  surprise  at  the  electric  light  when 
it  was  turned  on,  but  merely  remarked,  ^  I  am  seeing 
new  things  all  the  time.'  " 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  PBOBLEM  OF  EDUCATION  AND  TRAINING. 

To  educate  and  develop  into  loyal  citizens  of  a  free 
State  a  people  who  have  for  a  century  suffered  per- 
secution and  even  martyrdom  for  conscience'  sake, 
at  the  hands  of  their  rulers,  requires  the  utmost  tact 
and  wisdom.  Such  is  the  frailty  of  the  human  mind, 
that  custom  and  tradition  are  easily  mistaken  for  the 
dictates  of  conscience.  This  was  very  noticeably  the 
case  among  some  of  the  communities  of  the  Univer- 
sal Brotherhood.  The  Saskatchewan  Doukhobors 
were  more  disposed  to  accept  the  suggestions  that 
were  made  to  them  about  the  schooling  of  their  chil- 
dren than  were  their  Yorkton  brethren.  The  disin- 
clination they  all  felt  to  accepting  such  instruction 
from  the  Government  schools  was  the  natural  result 
of  the  cruel  treatment  they  had  previously  received 
in  Russia,  creating  a  suspicion  regarding  all  Govern- 
ment efforts  to  teach  their  children.  "When  they 
were  told  that  the  Society  of  Friends  had  worked 
harmoniously  for  two  centuries  with  the  govern- 
ments under  which  they  lived,  and  yet  had  main- 
tained its  own  schools,  it  seemed  to  open  their  minds 
to  the  desirability  of  literary  instruction,  if  it  could 
be  obtained  in  that  way. 

About  the  time  the  Doukhobors  were  leaving  Rus- 
sia, Peter  Verigiu,  their  exiled  leader,  wrote  to 
them:  "  People  write  to  me  that  in  America  school 


78 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  LN'  CANADA. 


teaching  is  obligatory.  It  is  better  to  be  so,  because 
elementary  teaching  is  necessary  as  a  help  in  life; 
for  instance,  in  order  to  be  able  to  read  or  write 
something.  One  must  not  think  that  school  teaching 
will  completely  enlighten  a  man,  but  I  repeat,  it  can 
be  a  help,  and  a  man  by  reading  books  can  acquire 
knowledge,  and  also  his  mind  will  in  general  develop 
thereby. 

"  Briefly,  I  believe  if  God  grants  to  our  people  to 
settle  in  America  the  elementary  training  will  be 
necessary.  It  would  be  good  if  the  children  were  so 
taught  as  to  enable  them  to  adapt  the  knowledge 
practically  to  the  requirements  of  their  daily  home 
life." 

With  this  clear  recommendation  of  their  chief, 
one  would  suppose  that  the  rank  and  file  of  this 
brotherhood  would  adopt  his  wise  suggestions  on  this 
subject,  but  unhappily  other  teachers,  not  originally 
of  their  sect,  have  been  active  in  his  absence,  work- 
ing upon  their  untutored  minds.  Their  inheritance 
and  former  environment  must  also  be  considered  if 
we  would  judge  them  fairly. 

Time  and  again,  when  I  talked  with  them,  they 
would  ask  me  if  I  could  not  look  at  these  subjects  of 
education  and  land  tenure  from  their  standpoint, 
and  I  may  confess  it  required  time  and  much  efFort 
to  dispossess  my  mind  of  my  Anglo-Saxon  preconcep- 
tions. A  most  unjust  seizure  of  a  valuable  horse  by 
a  school  district  trustee  as  a  fine  for  the  refusal  to 
pay  a  school  tax  of  $8.00,  which  the  Doukhobors 


THE  EDUCATIOJJAL  PROBLEM. 


79 


could  scarcely  understand  as  obligatory  upon  them 
to  pay  while  their  children  were  not  admitted  to  the 
district  school,  had  thoroughly  outraged  the  whole 
community  settled  near  Yorkton.  By  what  warrant 
such  an  act  was  perpetrated  no  one  could  explain,  but 
I  endeavored  to  assure  them  that  this  instance  was 
quite  exceptional  in  the  administration  of  the  Cana- 
dian government. 

While  listening  to  one  of  their  most  intelligent  and 
representative  men,  as  he  explained  how  unfavorably 
this  action  had  impressed  the  Doukhobors  through- 
out all  their  villages,  their  "  standpoint  "  dawned 
upon  me,  so  I  could  the  better  understand  and  the 
more  sympathetically  enter  into  their  fears.  In 
short,  I  realized 

"  The  heart  must  bleed  before  it  feels ; 
The  pool  be  troubled  before  it  heals." 

Their  ignorance  and  poverty  and  sufferings,  with  all 
the  emphasis  they  put  upon  the  spiritual  verities, 
came  crowding  into  my  mind.  Their  inherited  ten- 
dencies and  limitations  sadly  limit  their  mental  out- 
look, but  in  the  midst  of  their  crudeness  and  ignor- 
ance there  is  the  promise  of  true  character,  for  they 
have  the  foundation  of  strong  minds. 

Let  us  for  a  moment  place  ourselves  in  their  posi- 
tion, step  back  two  or  three  centuries  in  our  educa- 
tional advantages,  and  then  endeavor  to  realize  the 
isolation  and  oppression  under  which  they  have  ex- 
isted, ever  and  anon  rallying  to  an  ideal  standard  of 
brotherhood  with  a  continual  protest  against  the 


80 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


cruelty  of  an  unchristian  government.  If,  then,  sud- 
denly placed  under  the  most  enlightened  and  free 
government  in  the  v^orld,  could  we  fully  appreciate 
our  new  surroundings  and  opportunities  at  once  I 
Would  not  the  habit  of  suffering  for  a  principle  be 
so  indelibly  stamped  upon  our  neglected  minds  as 
almost  to  compel  us  to  think  we  were  not  doing  our 
duty  without  experiencing  some  kind  of  torture  ? 
Thus  they  are,  unconsciously,  the  victims  of  a  men- 
tal habit  formed  under  totally  different  conditions. 

A  people  who  think  they  have  come,  in  spiritual 
descent  at  least,  from  the  three  children  of  Israel 
who  came  out  of  the  fiery  furnace  without  the  smell 
of  fire  upon  their  garments,  and  who  believe  the  mis- 
sion of  evangelizing  the  world  has  been  committed 
to  them,  because  they  have  the  oracles  of  God  in  the 
form  of  the  new  and  great  Commandment  of  Jesus 
Christ; — such  a  people,  exhibiting  in  no  common  de- 
gree the  fruits  of  the  spirit,  should  be  led  out  of  their 
mental  darkness  without  offending  their  conscien- 
tious convictions.  This  is  only  possible  through  sym- 
pathy and  love.  The  Apostle  Paul  dealt  with  such 
a  state  of  mind  and  of  faith  when  he  wrote,  "  Let  not 
him  that  eateth  [meat]  despise  him  that  eateth  [it] 
not;  and  let  not  him  that  eateth  not  judge  him  that 
eateth:  for  God  hath  received  him.  .  .  .  Let  us  not 
therefore  judge  one  another  any  more;  but  judge 
this  rather,  that  no  man  put  a  stumbling  block  or  an 
occasion  to  fall  in  his  brother's  way.  .  .  .  All  things 
indeed  are  pure,  but  it  is  evil  for  that  man  who  eat- 
eth with  offense." 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  PROBLEM. 


81 


The  truth  has  always  been  largely  entrusted  to 
poor,  ignorant  men.  It  was  so  in  the  first  and  in 
every  subsequent  century  of  our  era.  To  be  sure  it 
was  well-nigh  buried  by  the  Judaism  and  narrow- 
mindedness  of  the  first  disciples  of  our  Lord,  and  it  is 
still  struggling  for  recognition  in  the  professing 
Church  of  Christ. 

"  But  these  very  limitations  may  become  a  bless- 
ing. I^ot  to  supplant  others  in  the  strife  after 
earthly  position  or  possessions,  but  to  gain  the  spir- 
itual power  to  turn  the  limitations  which  defeat  into 
the  instruments  of  heavenly  blessing,  makes  one  a 
prince  with  God.  Limitations  are  often  the  condi- 
tions of  the  birth  of  character."  * 

The  more  I  talked  with  these  honest-hearted  men 
and  women  the  more  fully  and  deeply  impressed  be- 
came the  conviction  that  they  possessed  the  very 
germ  of  moral,  civil  and  spiritual  reform,  and  that 
within  a  few  years  their  children  will  acquire  such 
knowledge  of  American  life  and  customs  as  to  cor- 
rect the  misunderstandings  of  their  parents.  One 
of  the  very  pleasant  scenes  that  I  recall  was  the  evi- 
dent satisfaction  which  the  older  members  of  a  cer- 
tain family  in  the  Saskatchewan  colony  showed  when 
a  little  boy  of  ten  years  read  to  me  out  of  an  English 
primer;  and  this  method  of  reaching  the  elders  is 
the  key  to  the  whole  educational  situation.  As  soon 
as  the  parents  have  confidence  in  those  who  teach 

♦George  A.  Barton,  "The  Roots  of  Christian  Teaching 
Found  in  the  Old  Testament." 


82 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


their  children, — that  thej  will  not  undermine  any  of 
their  religious  tenets,  and  are  working  in  a  truly 
disinterested  way, — they  extend  their  hearty  co-ope- 
ration. 

The  educational  service  which  N'ellie  Baker,  of 
Toronto,  rendered  to  the  Doukhobors  is  one  of  the 
brightest  spots  in  the  history  of  the  settlement.  It  is 
graphically  described  in  The  Christian  Herald  of 
Eleventh  month  7th,  1900: 

"  The  Doukhobors  are  anxious  to  become  Cana- 
dians and  to  be  able  to  communicate  with  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  settlers  around  them.  Knowdng  this,  two 
ladies  of  Kingston,  Ontario,  Mrs.  Eliza  H.  Varney, 
a  Quaker,  and  her  young  cousin.  Miss  Nellie  Baker, 
determined  to  establish  a  little  summer  school  at  one 
of  the  Doukhobor  villages  on  Good  Spirit  Lake.  Mrs. 
Varney  had  already  passed  the  summer  of  1899 
there,  conducting  a  dispensary  for  the  Doukhobors, 
who  have  no  physicians  among  them.  They  pitched 
their  tents  near  three  of  the  Doukhobor  villages:  a 
small  tent  for  their  residence,  another  for  the  dis- 
pensary (which  was  under  Mrs.  Vamey's  charge), 
and  a  third,  20  by  20  feet,  for  the  school,  over  which 
Miss  Baker  presided,  and  for  which  work  her  studies 
at  Queen  University  (together  with  a  natural  apti- 
tude and  Christian  sympathy)  had  fitted  her.  Mrs. 
Varney  had  won  the  affections  of  the  villagers  the 
previous  year,  and  they  were  not  slow  to  send  their 


Nellie  Baker. 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  PROBLEM. 


83 


children  to  the  new  school,  some  of  them  arriving 
before  the  ladies  had  unpacked  their  luggage. 

"  Miss  Baker's  report  of  her  experiment,  which 
has  just  been  made  to  the  Canadian  Commissioner  of 
Immigration,  shows  what  difficulties  she  encountered. 
She  found  herself  confronted  bj  a  tentful  of  boys 
and  girls,  with  none  of  whom  did  she  have  a  single 
known  word  in  common.  ^  By  signs  and  motions,'  she 
says,  *  I  got  them  seated  in  rows  on  the  prairie  grass 
of  the  tent  floor,  and  holding  up  a  pencil  said  One.'' 
I  could  not  detect  any  apparent  comprehension. 
Then  taking  up  another  pencil,  I  said,  "  Two,"  and 
then  another,  and  said,  "  Three."  Still  no  response, 
and  my  heart  sank  somewhat.  However,  I  decided 
to  repeat  the  method,  and  as  I  said  "  One,"  I  noticed 
a  look  on  a  boy's  face  that  told  me  he  knew  I  was 
counting,  and  I  saw  him  turn  and  speak  to  the  others. 
Almost  instantly  they  imderstood,  and  soon,  repeat- 
ing after  me,  they  counted  up  to  ten.' 

"  From  this  beginning  the  course  of  teaching  pro- 
ceeded. Some  of  the  pupils  walked  five  miles  to 
school  and  five  miles  back  every  day.  The  children 
were  never  tired.  The  favorite  method  was  object 
teaching.  '  They  learned  the  divisions  of  time  from 
a  watch,  to  count  money  from  coins,  and  so  on.  The 
children  had  a  natural  taste  for  figures,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  two  months  the  older  children  had  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  through  one-half  of  the  multiplica- 
tion table,  and  some  of  the  more  advanced  pupils 
were  in  the  second  (Canadian)  reader.'   In  writing, 


84 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


she  declares  that  some  of  them  equaled  or  surpassed 
the  teacher. 

The  children  were  anxious  to  have  tasks  assigned 
to  them  to  prepare  at  home,  and  never  were  satisfied 
with  the  amount  of  such  tasks;  they  always  wanted 
more.  At  first  the  Doukhobors  did  not  know  that 
Miss  Baker's  work  was,  like  Mrs.  Varney's,  entirely 
voluntary  and  unremunerated.  When  they  found  it 
out,  they  sent  a  committee  to  her  to  offer  her  some 
compensation,  although  they  were  in  need  them- 
selves. When  she  declined  it  they  told  her  that  they 
thanked  her  ^  all  the  day  and  all  the  night.'  Some  of 
the  older  boys,  who  did  not  know  a  word  of  any  lan- 
guage but  Russian  at  the  beginning  of  July,  can  now, 
after  barely  two  months'  teaching,  correspond  with 
Miss  Baker  in  *  fairly  understandable  English !'  " 

"  Lally  Bernard "  says  in  The  (Toronto)  GlohCj 
Twelfth  month  1st,  1900: 

The  greatest  care  should  be  exercised  in  the 
choice  of  the  teachers  sent  to  the  Doukhobor  colo- 
nies. The  men  and  women  who  undertake  to  teach 
these  people  will  have  an  immense  responsibility 
resting  upon  their  shoulders,  and  immature  teachers, 
or  those  who  go  mainly  from  a  sordid  motive,  may 
do  irreparable  harm.  Miss  Baker's  work  was  a  labor 
of  love,  and  was  accomplished  under  great  difficulties, 
but  her  interest  and  sympathy  were  so  keen,  and  her 
intelligence  of  so  high  an  order,  that  the  work  she 
did  was  unusually  successful." 


PHOTOGRAPHtD   BY   XELLIF.  BAKER. 

Nellie  Baker's  classes. 


PHOTOGRAPHED   BY   XELLIE  BAKER. 

Some  of  Nellie  Baker's  pupils. 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  PROBLEM. 


85 


Helen  Morland,  of  London,  has  been  conducting 
a  school  at  Good  Spirit  Lake  for  three  months,  under 
the  auspices  of  English  Friends,  and  Hannah  Bel- 
lows, daughter  of  John  Bellows,  expects  to  join  her 
in  the  spring  of  1903.  As  stated  elsewhere,  Friends 
of  Philadelphia  are  providing  a  school  for  the  Prince 
Albert  colony,  on  the  banks  of  the  Saskatchewan 
River. 

I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  one  of  their 
leaders,  in  which  he  asks  that  this  new  Saskatchewan 
River  school-house  be  built  in  his  village.  This  man 
went  from  village  to  village  with  us  entreating  his 
brethren  to  put  aside  their  fears  that  an  English  edu- 
cation might  lead  their  children  away  from  their 
religious  doctrines,  and  I  assured  them  that  it  was 
my  desire  in  no  wise  to  interfere  with  these.  He  is 
one  of  those  of  whom  it  can  be  said,  in  the  words  of 
Aylmer  Maude,  "  i^'either  oaths  of  allegiance  nor 
the  stupefying  effect  of  [military]  discipline  can  be 
depended  on  permanently  to  shut  out  from  men's 
hearts  and  minds  the  ideals  of  the  prophets  and  the 
aspirations  of  the  saints;  [for]  when  the  test  came 
events  showed  that  among  these  common,  illiterate 
Doukhobors,  along  with  obvious  faults  and  limita- 
tions of  their  own,  there  dwelt  a  large  measure  of  the 
spirit  of  martyrs  and  the  courage  of  heroes;  and  so 
wonderful  are  the  workings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that 
those,  whose  faults  and  limitations  in  ordinary  life 


86 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IX  CANADA. 


may  be  patent  to  all  candid  observers,  may  yet  be 
found  faithful  unto  death  in  the  day  of  trial." 

To  educate  such  a  people  is  indeed  a  profound 
problem,  and  vre  will  need  to  undertake  the  task  after 
a  careful  study  of  the  conditions  from  which  they 
have  escaped,  in  order  to  appreciate  the  difficulties 
they  had  labored  under  for  a  century. 

M.  Ponomarev,  Inspector  of  Primary  Schools  in 
Russia,  recently  summed  up  his  obsen^ations  when 
inspecting  the  rural  district  schools  as  follows. 

In  Russian  villages  the  shepherd  is  happier  than 
the  male  teacher,  and  the  latter  happier  than  the 
female  teacher." 

"  The  moujik  considers  the  teacher  a  man  who 
lives  at  his  expense,  and  he  pays  him  less  than  the 
shepherd.  When  snow  has  fallen  and  the  boys  are 
without  anything  to  do,  being  unable  on  account  of 
the  winter  to  be  of  help  to  their  parents,  the  latter 
think  of  their  education.  An  ^  outchitel,'  or  school- 
master, is  hired  by  the  villagers,  who  agree  to  feed 
and  to  pay  him.  The  price  varies  from  10  to  50 
roubles  ($9  to  $40)  for  the  whole  winter,  which  is 
very  long  in  Russia.  As  to  the  food,  it  is  not  so  good 
as  that  of  the  shepherd;  each  family  whose  children 
frequent  the  school  feeds  in  its  turn  the  schoolmas- 
ter. The  school  building  is  a  miserable  hut,  often 
contiguous  to  the  house  of  the  moujik,  where  pigs, 
hens  and  cows  are  fed  twice  a  day.  It  is  the  business 
of  the  teacher  to  keep  his  school  clean.  There  is  no 
ventilation;  at  the  approach  of  the  cold  weather  all 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  PROBLEM. 


87 


windows  are  hermetically  closed  with  clay  or  glazier's 
putty.  The  moujik  cannot  understand  that  anything 
should  be  opened  in  winter  time.  In  regard  to  the 
heating,  it  is  quite  primitive.  Each  scholar  is  bound 
to  bring  some  pieces  of  wood  to  heat  the  school. 
When  it  is  freezing  too  hard  the  pupils  do  not  come, 
and  the  teacher,  being  compelled  to  remain  until  the 
evening,  envelopes  himself  in  his  touloupe,  or  sheep- 
skin, and  stays  motionless  in  a  comer  of  the  '  khata,' 
or  school  hut. 

"  Such  is  the  custom  in  poor  villages.  In  the  rich 
villages  the  BchooLmaster,  instead  of  being  a  martyr, 
becomes  a  tyrant.  He  strikes  the  pupils  brutally, 
tears  off  their  ears,  pulls  their  hair  and  breaks  their 
teeth,  for  he  is  almost  continually  drunk.  The  offi- 
cial report  instances  many  cases  in  which  the  chil- 
dren were  violently  thrown  on  the  ground  and 
bruised  by  the  teacher's  feet  to  such  a  point  that  the 
blood  gushed  out  from  their  noses  and  mouths.  But 
what  is  most  extraordinary  is  that  those,  queer  school- 
masters intrust  the  task  of  teaching  to  the  best 
scholars.  These  are  called  ^  the  first  group,'  or  ^  the 
professors,'  and  they  are  not  above  eight  or  ten  years 
of  age.  While  they  try  to  teach  their  little  comrades 
the  schoolmaster  sits  down  to  drink  in  the  next 
'  kabako.'  " 

The  Doukhobors  were  denied  even  such  instruc- 
tion as  this  account  represents,  and  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  they  should  look  with  contempt 
upon  such  instructors. 


88 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IN  CANADA. 


On  the  other  hand  thej  would  do  well  to  appre- 
ciate that  education  in  its  proper  and  true  methods 
is  essential  to  them  if  they  would  develop  all  their 
faculties,  and  detect  how  intimately  the  intellectual 
and  religious  processes  are  blended.  The  Bible,  even 
as  an  intellectual  corrective  of  religious  ideas,  would 
be  invaluable  to  them,  and  this,  under  enforced  illit- 
eracy, they  have  not  had  the  opportunity  to  read. 
But  they  are  not  the  first  people  who  have  been  made 
the  victims  of  false  teaching  through  their  ignorance 
of  the  Bible. 

As  these  children  of  the  soil  are  very  obsen^ant  of 
natural  phenomena  and  appreciative  of  the  beauties 
of  the  physical  world,  it  seems  very  fitting  to  ap- 
proach them  through  this  channel,  and  I  found  them 
more  easily  convinced  by  the  parables  of  Christ^s 
teaching  along  this  line  than  in  any  other  way. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  simple  and  effective  methods 
that  can  be  employed,  and  is  also  a  happy  way  of 
teaching  the  Bible  to  them.  This  also  appeals 
strongly  to  those  who  have  been  blessed  with  an  in- 
timate knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  from  their 
infancy,  and  who  have  had  the  advantage  of  seeing 
the  practical  illustration  of  the  truths  contained  in 
them  applied  to  daily  living,  as  many  of  the  Doukho- 
bors  have  endeavored  to  do. 

The  number  of  Scripture  quotations  that  I  heard 
while  among  them  made  me  marvel  at  the  diligence 
of  the  Doukhobors  in  instructing  their  children  in 
the  Scriptures,  especially  considering  how  few  can 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  PROBLEM. 


89 


read.  Yet  I  could  clearly  see  that  many  important 
passages  had  been  omitted,  and  some  misconstrued, 
the  context  being  disregarded.  Xaturallv,  they  do 
not  wish  strangers  to  indoctrinate  them  with  new  in- 
terpretations, as  they  have  suffered  so  much  to  main- 
tain their  otsti;  and  yet  by  playing  upon  their  natu- 
ral mental  bias  they  can  be  easily  led  into  the  accept- 
ance of  new  ideas.  TTe  have  seen  how  some  of  them 
were  willing  to  accept  such  literal  and  foolish  inter- 
pretations of  familiar  texts  as  started  them  on  a  pil- 
grimage in  search  of  Jesus,  and  to  discard  the  proper 
use  of  animals.  Yet  their  very  proneness  to  error 
indicates  how  readily  they  may  respond  to  right 
teaching,  and  this  was  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  no 
Doukhobors  near  Good  Spirit  Lake,  where  Kobert 
and  Elizabeth  Buchanan  have  taken  so  much  interest 
in  them,  would  join  their  deluded  brethren  of  the 
Yorkton  colony. 

As  I  studied  the  unique  combination  of  spiritual 
ideals  with  undeveloped  mental  powers  which  some 
of  the  men  of  the  Yorkton  colonies  exhibited  in  the 
conferences  I  had  with  them,  I  saw  that  endless 
patience  and  a  sympathetic  appreciation  of  their  con- 
victions were  absolutely  essential  to  lead  them  out  of 
their  mistaken  conclusions.  Yet,  granted  patience 
and  sympathetic  treatment,  their  enlightenment  is 
not  a  hopeless  undertaking  by  any  means.  The  high 
moral  standard  they  maintain,  and  their  thrift,  bear 
ample  evidence  of  a  right  development  of  the  mind 
in  many  respects,  and  yet  their  inability  to  see  that 


90 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


their  spiritual  interests  do  not  necessarily  conflict 
with  such  sane  institutions  as  the  homestead  and  reg- 
istration laws  and  the  public  school  system,  reveals 
a  crudeness  of  mind  which  cannot  be  overcome  at 
once. 

The  most  speedy  solution  of  these  difficulties  would 
be  to  give  the  women  of  their  communities  their 
rightful  place.  They  are  greatly  in  the  majority, 
many  of  the  men  having  been  killed  and  banished. 
One  finds  three  times  as  many  women  as  there  are 
men  in  their  villages.  These  women  have  often  had 
to  carry  all  the  burdens  of  making  and  keeping  up 
the  home,  with  the  training  of  their  children. 

Repeatedly  I  urged  the  Doukhobor  men  to  give 
their  women  an  opportimity  to  speak  in  their  confer- 
ences, but  the  oriental  idea  obtains  so  positively  and 
persistently  it  was  very  difficult  to  get  any  expression 
from  them  at  such  times.  Once  out  of  the  Assem- 
bly, however,  they  would  frequently  give  their 
opinions,  sometimes  far  from  complimentary  to  their 
brethren,  including  ourselves  in  one  instance.  On 
this  occasion  my  interpreter  overheard  a  typical 
debate  between  the  women  of  a  certain  household  on 
one  side,  and  the  men  on  the  other. 

We  had  talked  for  some  time,  and  I  proposed  that 
the  fourteenth  chapter  of  John  might  be  read  in  Rus- 
sian, w'hen  one  of  the  Doukhobor  women  said,  in  an 
undertone,  "  Those  men  are  no  good,  or  rather  they 
are  helpless,  unless  they  have  the  Bible  or  some  book 
under  their  arms;  while  we  have  the  truths  they 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  PEOBLEM. 


91 


speak  of  in  our  hearts,  and  are  living  them  out 
daily."  The  man  standing  opposite  to  her  across  the 
room  replied,  "  I  advise  you  to  hold  your  peace  and 
listen,  for  you  may  learn  some  things  you  don't 
know." 

We  were  highly  amused  with  this  bit  of  independ- 
ence on  the  part  of  our  critic,  for  she  expressed  her 
honest  opinion,  and  there  was  a  truth  in  her  thought 
worthy  of  our  consideration,  while  the  supplement- 
ary suggestion  of  the  man  also  had  its  place. 

"  With  reference  to  their  children,"  says  Aylmer 
Maude,  "  I  think  any  one  who  has  seen  how  obedi- 
ent, considerate,  and  quick  to  be  of  use,  the  Douk- 
hobor  children  usually  are,  will  be  inclined  to  admit 
that  most  of  us  have  much  to  learn  from  these  people 
on  the  subject  of  education.  Even  regarding  instruc- 
tion (as  apart  from  education  proper),  their  knowl- 
edge of  agriculture  and  of  useful  handicraft,  coupled 
with  a  serious  attention  to  religion  as  a  guide  to  daily 
life,  are  more  likely  to  help  them  to  live  useful  and 
happy  lives  than  any  knowledge  of  vulgar  fractions 
or  of  the  eccentricities  of  EngKsh  orthography." 

The  self-control  which  they  instill  into  their  chil- 
dren may  well  put  to  shame  most  American  families. 
Soon  after  their  arrival  on  this  continent  a  group  of 
Doukhobor  children  were  playing  with  some  Cana- 
dian children,  when  one  of  the  latter  was  accidentally 
hurt  and  ran  home  crying.  The  father  of  this  boy 
was  so  enraged  that  he  rushed  at  the  only  Doukho- 
bor child  who  remained  on  the  playground,  and 


92 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


kicked  this  little  fellow,  who  had  not  been  playing  at 
all,  but  innocently  sitting  near  the  scene  of  the 
trouble,  so  that  he  died  shortly  after  from  the  in- 
juries received. 

The  parents  of  the  lad  and  all  the  Doukhobors 
forthwith  signed  a  memorial  expressing  their  sorrow 
for  the  boy's  death,  but  asking  that  the  man  who 
killed  him  should  not  be  punished.  Such  an  attitude 
of  mind  and  heart  was  reflected  throughout  their 
communities  in  the  children.  Indeed,  it  was  one  of 
the  very  pleasant  features  of  my  visit  among  their 
villages  to  observe  the  gentleness  of  their  manners. 
I  do  not  recall  a  single  instance  of  quarreling  among 
all  the  groups  of  children  I  saw  at  play,  and  when  I 
gathered  them  together  they  invariably  showed  a 
courtesy  toward  the  smaller  members  of  the  group. 

These  bright-eyed  boys  and  girls  would  stand  by 
the  hour  to  hear  some  story  of  how  houses  were 
made  in  America,  or  how  steamships  were  propelled 
across  the  ocean,  etc.  Several  of  them,  not  over 
twelve  years  of  age,  had  picked  up  enough  English 
to  understand  without  an  interpreter.  If  their 
daughters  between  twelve  and  sixteen  years  of  age 
were  permitted  to  go  to  school  they  would  within 
four  years  acquire  sufiicient  knowledge  of  English  to 
be  competent  to  teach  their  younger  brothers  and 
sisters. 

But  here  is  one  of  the  practical  difficulties  to  over- 
come, and  it  was  on  this  very  point  that  I  had  the 
warmest  contention  v^ith  their  elders.    There  were 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  PROBLEM. 


93 


frequently  twenty-five  to  thirty  robust  girls  of  four- 
teen to  sixteen  in  each  village  who  ought  to  have  had 
the  privileges  of  a  primary  education.  To  send  a 
girl  to  school,  however,  seemed  never  to  have  dawned 
upon  them,  and  it  was  only  after  the  most  earnest 
assurances  that  they  were  just  as  worthy  and  capa- 
ble of  receiving  instruction  as  their  boys  were  that  I 
obtained  a  promise  of  permission  for  these  girls  to  go 
to  the  boarding  school  now  about  being  erected  in 
the  Duck  Lake  colony. 

One  might  hunt  the  world  over  and  not  find  a 
more  promising  or  more  inspiring  mission  field, — 
such  a  physically  vigorous  and  highly  moral  people, 
with  such  alert  minds.  Surely,  with  all  their  ignor- 
ance, and  even  fanaticism,  such  a  people  is  worthy 
of  our  help. 

It  was  Annie  Besant  who  said,  in  her  autobiog- 
raphy :  "  Plenty  of  people  wish  well  to  any  good 
cause,  but  very  few  care  to  exert  themselves  to  help 
it,  and  still  fewer  will  risk  anything  in  its  support. 

*  Some  one  ought  to  do  it,  but  why  should  I  ? '  is  the 
ever-reechoed    phrase    of   weak-kneed  amiability. 

*  Some  one  ought  to  do  it,  so  why  not  I  ? '  is  the  cry 
of  some  earnest  servant  of  man,  eagerly  springing 
forward  to  face  some  perilous  duty;  and  between 
these  two  lie  whole  centuries  of  moral  evolution.'' 

Much  may  be  accomplished  if  those  who  feel  a 
right  prompting  to  engage  in  so  good  a  w^ork  will  go 
among  these  Doukhobors  v^ith  a  sincere  desire  to 
learn  from  them; — for  in  some  things,  especially 


94 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


touching  their  religious  opinions,  they  consider  them- 
selves quite  as  much  enlightened  as  their  instructors; 
and  this  trait  cannot,  by  the  way,  be  said  to  be 
altogether  peculiar  to  the  Doukhobors.  In  this  con- 
nection, for  their  religion  is  inseparably  bound  up 
with  their  education,  one  must  always  have  regard 
to  the  superior  claims  of  their  faith,  £ind  be  able  to 
appreciate  the  strength  of  their  convictions;  while 
on  the  other  hand  we  should,  in  the  language  of 
Aylmer  Maude,  "  be  on  our  guard  against  confound- 
ing the  sect  with  the  truths  on  which  they  have  built 
their  polity/'  The  sect  has  erred  in  the  past,  and  has 
even  split  in  pieces,  as  some  larger  and  more  favored 
bodies  of  Christians  have  done,  and  there  are  many 
possibilities  of  disintegration  for  the  future,  but  the 
correctness  of  certain  principles  to  which  they  have 
testified,  and  for  which  they  have  suffered,  "  will 
remain  as  long  as  the  conscience  of  man  continues 
to  influence  his  actions/' 

These  long-persecuted  peasants  need  to  be  shown 
how  the  mind  enters  into  all  human  beliefs,  and 
thereby  introduces  an  element  of  human  fallibility 
which  has  to  be  allowed  for  to  an  extent  which  few 
suspect. 

Another  phase  of  the  educational  work  which 
should  not  be  overlooked  results  from  the  Russian 
custom  of  sending  every  peasant  to  learn  some 
handicraft  during  half  the  year.  In  this  way  we 
can  account  for  the  readiness  of  the  Doukhobors  to 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  PROBLEM. 


95 


make  almost  anything  with  their  hands.  To  utilize 
this  quality,  and  not  allow  it  to  lapse,  a  manual  labor 
department  should  be  attached  to  every  school 
started  among  them.  It  was  particularly  pleasing  to 
see  just  such  provision  made  by  themselves  in  the 
basement  of  a  school  house  which  the  Doukhobors 
had  built  in  one  of  their  villages. 

This,  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  best  way  to  go  about 
getting  into  close  touch  with  them.  Of  course  the 
teaching  of  the  English  language  is  important,  and 
may  be  carried  on  simultaneously.  The  greatest 
need  on  the  part  of  their  would-be  helpers  is  an 
honest  heart  with  a  practical  head. 

If  such  practical,  sympathetic  instructors  can  be 
found,  who  will  enter  heartily  into  their  customs, 
and  make  use  of  them  to  lead  the  people  to  a  larger 
appreciation  of  the  privileges  of  the  free  and  en- 
lightened government  under  which  they  now  live, 
great  progress  in  their  development  will  appear.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  there  is  an  undue  insistence  upon 
Anglo-Saxon  ways  and  thoughts,  it  will  only  tend  to 
drive  them  further  into  the  false  ideas  about 
"  liberty  "  which  they  so  often  express,  confusing- 
spiritual  freedom  with  social  or  industrial  independ- 
ence. If  I  were  to  express  briefly  my  idea  of  the 
best  plan  to  help  them  it  would  be:  First,  to  get  their 
confidence  by  a  hearty  appreciation  of  their  opinions 
and  customs, — which  have,  in  general,  much  about 
them  that  one  can  admire, — and  to  lead  them  by  easy 
steps  to  distinguish  between  their  conscience  and 


96 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  CASADA. 


their  customs,  and  thus  eventually  to  recognize  their 
own  educational  needs. 

In  attempting  to  educate  those  who  have  such 
strong  convictions  and  inherited  customs  as  the 
Doukhobors  have,  it  certainly  is  wise  to  work  along 
the  line  of  least  resistance. 

Their  strongest  principle  is  that  of  love  to  their 
fellow  men,  and  the  affection  they  show  for  their 
families  is  proverbial.  The  reflection  of  this  affec- 
tion was  strikingly  apparent  among  the  children 
themselves,  for,  being  drilled  in  the  school  of  self- 
sacrifice,  they  instinctively  responded  to  any  appeal 
made  in  a  loving  spirit,  at  least  when  the  subject  was 
within  their  mental  grasp.  As  soon  as  a  Doukhobor 
realizes  that  you  are  genuinely  in  sympathy  with 
him,  his  services  are  at  your  disposal;  but  without 
this  sympathy  one  will  labor  in  vain.  It  would,  ther- 
fore,  be  well  to  appreciate  at  once  that  one  must 
recognize  their  merits. 

Even  the  most  advanced  among  them  are  some- 
times crude  in  their  ideas,  but  possess  a  certain 
innate  honesty  and  simplicity  of  thought  that  is  quite 
refreshing.  An  interesting  instance  of  this  has  re- 
cently come  to  hand  in  connection  with  the  building 
of  the  school-house  in  the  Prince  Albert  colony. 
My  correspondent  is  one  of  their  most  earnest  and 
progressive  men,  about  forty-four  years  of  age.  He 
says:  "  As  the  Terpenie  and  Oospenie  people  showed 
the  warmest  interest  in  the  school,  our  brethren  ask 
that  one-half  of  the  building  be  built  in  Terpenie 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  PROBLEM. 


97 


village,  as  we  are  told  that  the  proposed  school-house 
is  to  be  one  of  two  stories." 

In  the  language  of  one  *  who  visited  the  Doukho- 
bors  at  the  time  of  their  first  settlement  in  Canada, 
we  still  think  while  "  these  people  may  not  have  the 
book-learning  of  Americans,  and  we  may  be  able  to 
teach  them  many  useful  things,  the  benefit  is  not  all 
one-sided. 

"  The  gentleness  of  manners  that  springs  from 
kindliness  of  heart  has  a  great  charm,  and  the  con- 
trast between  the  casual  greetings  of  the  modem 
civilized  world  and  the  deferential  salutation  of  the 
Doukhobor  men  and  women  leaves  one  something  to 
think  about. 

Our  modern  acceptation  of  the  word  *  education  ' 
is  a  strange  one,  and  the  definition  of  the  term  '  cul- 
ture '  as  a  condition  of  the  intellect  rather  than 
amassed  knowledge  is  a  definition  which  is  not  suffi- 
ciently appreciated  on  this  continent." 


* "  Lally  Bernard,"  in  "  The  Canadian  Doukhobor  Settle- 
ments," a  series  of  letters  to  "The  (Toronto)  Globe." 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  AS  HOME^IAKERS. 


When  the  vanguard  of  the  Doukhobor  emigration 
reached  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  there  were  not 
wanting  critics  who  could  see  in  the  movement  only 
an  influx  of  paupers.  In  truth,  the  Doukhobors  ar- 
rived in  Canada  almost  utterly  destitute  of  material 
wealth.  Their  transportation  from  Russia  had  ab- 
sorbed whatever  slight  resources  they  had  previously 
possessed,  and  even  then  had  only  been  made  possi- 
ble by  the  help  they  had  received  from  the  Society 
of  Friends.  The  Canadian  Government  was  forced 
to  help  them  in  securing  transportation  to  their  new 
prairie  homes,  and  in  providing  the  necessaries  of 
life  after  they  got  there;  and  many  times  since  its 
watchful  officials  have  stood  between  their  wards 
and  absolute  starvation.  Large  sums  of  money  have 
been  spent  by  the  Friends  of  Philadelphia  and  of 
London  Yearly  Meetings  to  stock  their  farms  and  to 
provide  them  with  implements  of  husbandry  and 
other  necessaries  of  agriculture.  Perhaps  no  other 
people  ever  received  so  much  help  from  the  charita- 
bly-disposed in  so  short  a  time.  Yet  one  thing  on 
which  their  best  friends  and  their  harshest  critics 
could  now  absolutely  agree  is  the  statement  that 
they  are  not  now,  never  have  been,  and  show  no  signs 
of  becoming,  paupers.  Their  pitiable  poverty  was 
their  misfortune,  not  their  fault;  and  every  lift 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  AS  HOMEMAKEBS.  99 

which  helping  hands  have  since  given  them  they 
have  utilized  as  aids  to  them  in  the  task  of  helping 
themselves. 

Their  initial  task  of  making  habitable  shelters  for 
themselves  was  one  which  would  have  strained  the 
resources  of  the  hardiest  pioneers.  They  were  located 
on  the  bare  prairie,  almost  without  tools  or  building 
materials,  distant  from  sources  of  supplies,  without 
money,  harassed  by  sickness,  subject  to  the  rigor  of  a 
strange  climate,  with  winter  fast  approaching.  The 
energy,  resource,  ingenuity  and  fortitude  which  they 
displayed  under  these  circumstances  are  well  de- 
scribed by  May  Fitz-Gibbon  ("  Lally  Bernard  ^'), 
who  visited  them  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1899, 
soon  after  their  arrival: 

"  The  men  of  each  community  were  called  upon  to 
hire  themselves  out  as  farm  laborers  and  railway 
navvies.  The  distances  in  the  West  are  enormous, 
and  it  meant  simply  the  exodus  of  the  men  from  the 
Tillages,  and  an  absence  that  was  to  be  counted  by 
weeks  or  months.  Then,  too,  in  a  village  of  perhaps 
a  hundred  and  twenty  souls  they  might  have  a  yoke 
of  oxen  or  one  pair  of  horses,  and  these  were  to 
plough,  and  carry  lumber  for  the  frames  of  houses, 
and,  more  than  all,  transport  flour  from  a  great  dis- 
tance to  feed  the  community.  The  question  was  a 
grave  one;  winter  comes  quickly  in  these  latitudes. 
But  the  question  was  answered  by  the  women,  who 
turned  to,  helped  the  few  men  left  in  the  village  to 
build  the  houses,  and  not  only  trod  the  mortar  and 


100 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  CANADA. 


used  their  hands  as  trowels,  but  carted  the  logs,  draw- 
ing them  for  miles  with  the  aid  of  two  simple  little 
Avooden  wheels,  which  were  no  bigger  than  those  of  a 
child's  go-cart.  The  earth  for  the  mortar  was  car- 
ried on  their  backs  in  baskets  woven  of  willow  or  in 
huge  platters  hewn  out  of  logs;  the  water  was 
carried  at  times  for  half  a  mile  in  two  buckets  hewn 
like  platters  out  of  trunks  of  trees  and  hung  at  the 
end  of  a  long  sapling.  A  deep  trench  was  dug,  and 
by  the  edge  sat  a  score  of  women  less  strong  than 
their  Spartan  sisters,  chopping  with  a  rude  hatchet 
hay  or  grass  to  mix  with  the  water  in  the  trench  or 
pit.  Bucket  after  bucket  of  water  was  poured  in 
from  the  primitive  wooden  pails,  while  six  women 
with  skirts  kilted  up  nearly  to  their  waists  trod  the 
mortar  until  it  was  as  smooth  as  paste.  Another  gang 
of  women  carried  it  in  the  wooden  troughs  to  the 
houses,  where  six  or  eight  others  plastered  the  logs 
both  inside  and  out  with  the  cold  clay  paste. 

The  neatness  of  the  work  was  astonishing,  for 
while  in  some  cases  logs  large  enough  to  build  a  log 
house  were  to  be  found,  in  others  they  had  to  be 
woven  out  of  coarse  willow  branches,  the  upright 
posts  alone  being  of  sufficient  strength  to  support  the 
roofs  of  sod  (two  layers)  laid  on  with  a  neatness  and 
precision  that  is  seldom  seen  in  this  country;  and  the 
walls  of  the  houses  themselves  were  not  only  stuffed 
with  clay,  but  presented,  both  inside  and  out,  as 
smooth  a  surface  as  if  the  trowel  of  a  first-rate  plas- 
terer had  been  at  work.    In  many  cases  these  people 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  AS  H0:MEMAKERS.  101 


had  neither  tools  nor  nails,  and  the  carpentering 
work  of  the  interior  of  the  houses  is  a  marvel  of  in- 
genuity.'' 

It  was  under  difficulties  fully  as  great,  and  met 
with  courage  and  resource  equally  surprising,  that 
the  beginnings  were  made  in  the  work  of  cultivating 
the  soil.  So  few  draft  animals  were  available,  and 
the  needs  for  them  were  so  pressing  and  multifari- 
ous, that  much  earth  was  broken  by  the  women 
harnessing  themselves  to  the  plough.  The  pictures 
of  this  novel  scene  were  widely  disseminated,  and 
elicited  much  unfair  comment  from  the  uninformed 
on  the  supposed  cruelty  of  the  Doukhobor  men.  The 
real  significance  of  the  operation  is  thus  explained 
by  May  Fitz-Gibbon  in  one  of  her  letters  from  the 
Doukhobor  Settlements: 

"  The  women  of  the  Doukhobors  are  not  in  the 
habit  of  drawing  ploughs  or  of  building  houses,  but, 
like  many  others  of  their  sex,  they  are  capable  of 
rising  to  the  occasion;  and  this  was  one  of  the  occa- 
sions when  they  distinguished  themselves,  as  many  of 
our  pioneer  ancestresses  have  done  in  days  gone  by. 
The  summer  season  in  that  part  of  the  world  is  short, 
and  the  supply  of  horses  and  oxen  very  meagre.  The 
men  of  the  village  had  been  obHged  to  bring  logs  for 
the  houses  from  a  great  distance,  and  many  of  them 
were  working  on  distant  farms.  Flour  ran  short; 
the  distance  to  Yorkton  meant  a  tramp  of  at  least 
thirty-nine  miles,  and  the  return  meant  the  carrying 
of  large  sacks  of  flour  on  the  women's  shoulders.  A 


102 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CATs^ADA. 


woman's  council  was  held,  and  it  was  decided  that  the 
only  cattle  available  were  to  be  sent  to  Yorkton,  and 
the  women  declared  that  they  would  pull  the  plough. 
There  was  not  an  hour  to  be  lost !  they  knew  that 
the  lives  of  their  children  and  husbands  depended  on 
the  effort  they  were  willing  to  make,  and  a  splendid 
effort  it  was.  In  days  to  come  one  of  the  Russian 
artists  in  their  midst  will  paint  a  picture  which  will 
be  a  source  of  pride  to  the  descendants  of  these  wo- 
men who  shouldered  this  burden  with  the  same 
steadfast  courage  with  which  they  have  borne  many 
others.    (See  picture,  page  216.) 

The  fact  that  there  are  so  many  more  women 
than  men  must  be  borne  in  mind,  as  it  will  explain 
how  willing  these  women  of  the  Doukhobors  are  to 
lessen  the  burden  that  as  a  matter  of  necessity  the 
men  are  called  upon  to  bear.'* 

Indeed,  the  part  which  the  women  play  in  the  in- 
dustrial life  of  the  community  is  very  important, 
apart  from  the  exceptional  duties  which  have  de- 
volved upon  them  in  these  troublous  times  of  pion- 
eering. The  household  management  falls  to  them,  as 
it  does  to  their  sisters  everywhere;  but  amongst  the 
Doukhobors  this  includes  a  whole  department  which 
has  grown  obsolete  in  American  homes.  They  are 
spinners,  weavers,  dyers,  embroiderers,  tailoresses, 
and  even  milliners,  so  far  as  the  art  is  practiced  in 
their  communities.  Their  work  in  the  making  and 
decorating  of  house,  table  and  ceremonial  linen  is  of- 


THE  DOtJKHOBORS  AS  HOMEMAKERS.  103 


ten  exquisitely  fine,  and  is  the  wonder  and  delight  of 
all  observant  visitors.  One  of  these  who  visited  Ter- 
penie  (Saskatchewan)  a  few  months  before  me  thus 
expresses  himseK: 

During  the  meal  I  had  admired  the  beautiful 
decorative  work  done  by  the  needle  on  the  garments 
of  the  daughter-in-law,  and  at  its  conclusion  the  wo- 
men of  the  house  displayed  specimens  of  their  weav- 
ing, dyeing  and  embroidery.  The  articles  they  exhib- 
ited were  both  useful  and  ornamental  in  character. 
Some  of  the  weaving  was  particularly  fine,  the  tex- 
ture of  some  of  the  table  linen  being  equal  to  that 
produced  by  the  best  looms  of  Belfast.  Nearly  all 
the  linen  was  woven  with  a  simple  check  or  diaper 
pattern  in  red  at  the  side  and  ends,  and  much  taste 
and  skill  were  shown  in  the  arrangement  of  these. 
The  dark  w^oolen  cloth,  of  which  the  women's  skirts 
were  made,  much  resembled  Irish  frieze.  The 
clothes  of  the  men  were  made  of  similar  material, 
but  generally  lighter  in  color.  Some  of  the  kerchiefs 
worn  by  the  women  were  beautifully  embroidered 
in  fine  wools,  work  being  as  well  executed  as  the  most 
captious  critic  of  art  needlework  could  desire,  the  de- 
sign being  usually  regular  or  geometric,  and  almost 
ecclesiastic  in  simplicity  and  harmony.  The  knit- 
ting shown  me  by  the  daughter-in-law  was  as  fine 
as  that  of  the  famous  Shetland  shawls,  and  of  the 
same  gossamery  quality.  The  staple  colors  for  the 
woven  fabrics  seemed  to  be  browns,  fawns  and  grays, 
but  in  knitted  work,  and  in  the  more  decorative  por- 


104 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  CANADA. 


tions  of  the  goods  intended  for  personal  wear,  bril- 
liant coloring  is  general.  The  dyeing,  the  spinning 
and  the  weaving  are  all  done  bv  the  community.  The 
yarn  is  spun  on  the  old-fashioned  distaff.  For  the 
dyeing,  aniline  dyes  are  coming  into  general  use,  and 
I  saw  the  communal  loom,  in  sections,  for  it  was  not 
yet  put  together,  and  had  not  been  used  since  the  vil- 
lage was  founded.  It  was  a  primitive  wooden  ar- 
rangement, that  would  look  curiously  archaic  beside 
the  modern  mechanical  marvels  that  fabricate  the 
textiles  in  general  use,  but  its  effectiveness  when  op- 
erated skilfully  was  beyond  question." 

It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  the  ways  in 
which  the  women  of  the  communities  have  stepped 
beyond  the  ordinary  botmds  of  household  duties  to 
help  the  settlements  through  their  troubloiis^  in- 
fancy. One  seemingly  insignificant  source  of  reve- 
nue, the  sale  of  medicinal  roots,  which  they  dig  from 
the  prairie  sod,  has  been  so  industriously  pursued 
by  them  that  it  has  brought  many  thousands  of  dol- 
lars into  the  communal  treasuries.  Then  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  in  many  families  there  are  no  men 
at  all  to  help  bear  the  burdens.  Siberia  swallows 
up  the  flower  of  the  Doukhobor  manhood."  Even  in 
the  following  summer  the  visitors  from  Philadelphia 
Yearly  Meeting, — Joseph  S.  Elkinton  and  Jonathan 
E.  Rhoads, — found  women  engaged  in  the  roughest 
tasks  of  the  field  and  doing  the  work  of  both  men  and 
horses. 


THE   DOUKHOBOSS  AS  HOMEMAKERS.  105 


"  The  women  were  digging  out  sand  and  loading 
it  upon  a  wagon  for  building  purposes,  and  they  used 
their  shovels  dexterously.  The  wagon  thus  filled 
was  drawn  by  eighteen  women — six  abreast,  three  on 
either  side  of  sticks  or  cross  pieces,  connected  with 
the  wagon  by  a  chain.  The  movement  of  the  load, 
with  a  woman  on  top  of  it,  indicated  much  muscular 
strength,  accompanied  with  concert  and  grace  of 
action.  Horses  were  scarce,  and  the  men  being  em- 
ployed in  working  on  the  railroad,  were  the  reasons 
the  women  were  thus  engaged.  Twenty  women,  ten 
abreast,  holding  up  new  rakes  and  pitchforks  as  they 
came  in  from  the  field,  was  a  pretty  sight  here,  as 
elsewhere.'^ 

Bravely  as  the  difficulties  of  that  terrible  first 
winter  were  met  and  overcome,  they  left  sad  re- 
minders behind  them.  The  Philadelphia  Friends 
found  a  great  deal  of  sickness  almost  everywhere. 
Much  of  it  was  due  to  exposure  to  the  bitter  weather, 
and  much  more  to  overcrowding  and  living  in  ill- 
ventilated  rooms;  while  the  Doukhobors  who  had  so- 
journed in  Cyprus  had  brought  many  cases  of  fever 
away  with  them.  Scurvy  was  widespread  and  was 
"  spoken  of  in  this  community  as  indicating  a  short- 
age of  food  last  winter."  There  were  no  physicians 
and  no  medicines  in  most  of  the  communities,  and  in 
one  case  a  wagon-load  of  four  women  was  met,  three 
of  whom  were  ill,  and  were  being  driven  to  Yorkton, 
fifty  miles  distant,  to  secure  medical  attention.  To 
one  who  has  had  experience  of  these  prairie  trails  the 


106 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  CANADA. 


thought  of  the  ride  of  those  poor  sick  women  must 
cause  an  involuntary  shudder. 

But  not  to  dwell  too  long  on  this  side  of  the  story, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  visitor  of  the  past  summer 
(1902)  has  found  things  in  a  very  different  condition. 
They  are  still  isolated,  and  especially  in  case  of  sick- 
ness or  sudden  need  of  any  kind  their  isolation  is  a 
great  hardship,  but  their  thrift  and  perseverance 
have  begun  to  bear  rich  fruit,  and  they  have  already 
made  great  steps  toward  conquering  their  circum- 
stances. Perhaps  it  was  because  the  main  motive  for 
my  visit  was  educational  rather  than  material  relief, 
but  I  find  that  my  impression  of  their  needs  related 
mainly  to  their  mental  shortcomings.  Few  cases  of 
serious  suffering  from  lack  of  food,  clothing  or  shel- 
ter came  to  my  attention.  Good  harvests,  full  grana- 
ries, flourishing  gardens,  were,  not  universal,  but 
quite  frequently  met  with.  Many  communities  had 
the  latest  improved  farm  machinery,  and  farm  live 
stock  was  often  found  in  the  pink  of  condition.  The 
anonymous  writer  who  visited  their  settlements  but 
a  few  months  before  me  gives  quite  a  rosy  account 
of  their  material  welfare,  and  while  it  was  taken 
from  one  of  their  more  progressive  settlements,  it 
agrees  with  my  own  observation  respecting  the  situ- 
ation in  these : 

^'  In  Terpenie  there  were  between  one  hundred 
and  sixty  and  one  hundred  and  seventy  inhabitants, 
forty-seven  families  in  all.  Between  them  they  had 
twenty  horses,  a  hundred  and  thirty  cattle,  and  forty 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  AS  HOMEMAKERS.  107 

sheep.  In  the  village  of  Hierolofka,  ten  miles  away,, 
there  were  five  hundred  cattle  and  a  hundred  horses. 
Last  fall  the  Terpenie  people  had  plowed  with  nine 
ox  or  horse  teams,  in  three  weeks,  three  hundred  and 
twenty-five  acres  of  land,  and,  with  the  amount  of 
breaking  done,  they  would  have  this  year  a  thousand 
acres  under  cultivation.  Their  principal  crop  would 
be  wheat,  but  much  barley  and  flax  would  be  grown. 
Last  year  the  crops  were  good,  he  said,  but  they  had 
sold  none  of  the  grain  yet.  The  present  price  was 
too  low.  They  would  wait,  he  said,  until  they  got  a 
railroad,  and  then  they  could  get  a  better  price  for 
their  grain.  They  did  not  know  when  they  would 
get  the  road  built,  but  they  believed  Mr.  Sifton 
would  see  that  they  had  proper  shipping  facilities. 
They  had  ten  grist  mills,  operated  by  waterpower  at 
Terpenie  and  Hierolofka.  To  get  the  necessary 
water  supply,  the  Terpenie  people  had  built  a  canal 
two  miles  long — all  of  it  by  the  spade,  and  all  of  it 
done  by  the  women  of  the  village  while  the  men  were 
working  in  the  fields  or  on  the  railroad.  It  was  com- 
pleted last  fall,  and  would  be  in  operation  this  spring. 
The  stones  used  were  those  formerly  in  the  old  Hud- 
son's Bay  fort  at  Prince  Albert,  and  were  teamed 
nearly  a  hundred  miles.  The  flour  is,  of  course, 
ground  '  forthright,'  and  would  make  the  same  dark 
bread  in  general  use  among  the  Doukhobors. 

"  The  residents  of  Terpenie  have  forty-seven 
homesteads.  This  year  the  Hierolofka  people  will 
have  four  thousand  acres  cropped.    As  an  instance 


108 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  CANADA. 


of  the  extensive  nature  of  their  farming  operations, 
thev  purchased  last  year  forty  binders,  seventy 
mowers,  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  plows.  Xearly 
all  this  was  bought  on  credit,  and  no  better  comment 
on  their  commercial  reliability  need  be  adduced  than 
the  fact  that  on  January  1st  of  this  year,  though 
hardly  a  bushel  of  grain  had  been  sold,  less  than  fif- 
teen per  cent,  was  unpaid,  and  this  is  regarded  as 
being  as  good  as  the  bank.  They  make  use  of  every- 
thing— like  Autolycus,  they  are  '  snappers  up  of  un- 
considered trifles,'  picking  up  nails,  old  horseshoes,  or 
such  things,  and  carrying  them  home  and  putting 
them  to  use.  They  buy  only  absolute  necessities, 
having  learned  in  the  hard  school  of  Muscovite 
tyranny  that  economy  is  wealth.  At  the  towns  in 
which  they  deal,  the  merchants  are  anxious  that  more 
of  the  same  class  of  settlers  should  come  into  the 
country.  They  say  that  much  opposition  was  at  first 
manifested  at  the  Doukhobor  immigration,  but  that 
those  who  know  them  best  have  nothing  but  praise 
for  them,  either  as  farmers  or  citizens.  In  a  very 
few  years  the  Doukhobors  will  be  in  an  enviable 
financial  position,  in  fact  wealthy.  They  are  peace- 
able, law-abiding,  industrious  and  thrifty,  are  anxious 
to  learn  English  speech  and  desirous  of  following 
Canadian  customs.'' 

This  same  writer  pays  a  tribute  to  their  politeness 
of  speech,  demeanor  and  action  which  is  typical.  Xo 
observer  that  I  know  of  has  failed  to  bear  substan- 
tially the  same  testimony: 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  AS  HOMEMAKERS.  109 


"  We  met  a  party  of  five  Doukhobors — grave,  de- 
liberate men,  large  of  stature,  slow  of  speech,  with 
an  unaffected,  natural  courtesy  both  simple  and  dig- 
nified. We  reined  up  that  my  companion  might 
speak  to  them,  and  one  of  them,  with  whom  he  was 
acquainted,  introduced  us  to  the  other  four.  Each, 
as  his  name  was  mentioned,  lifted  his  heavy  black  fur  i 
cap  and  bowed.  They  told  us  the  village  was  half  a 
mile  from  the  top  of  the  ravine.  They  lifted  their 
hats  again  and  bowed  as  we  drove  on.  ^  Talk  about 
French  politeness,'  said  my  companion,  ^  it's  not  in  it 
with  the  courtesy  of  these  people.  They  raise  their 
hats  whenever  they  meet  each  other,  and  differ  from 
Frenchmen  in  that  they  are  quite  as  polite  to  their 
own  people  as  they  are  to  strangers.  I've  traveled  a 
great  deal,  and  I  never  saw  such  genuine  simplicity 
and  courtesy.  Wait  till  you  get  to  the  village,  and 
you'll  see  that  all  I've  said  is  true.'  " 

In  conclusion,  we  may  fitly  quote  the  testimony  of 
Nellie  Baker,  whose  educational  work  among  them 
has  been  already  mentioned.   She  says: 

"  The  dignified  courtesy  and  hospitality  extended 
to  us  in  more  than  a  score  of  their  villages,  the  manly 
bearing  of  the  men,  the  delightful  sympathy  and  af- 
fection with  which  they  regard  everything  connected 
with  their  homes, — an  estimation  of  the  home  that 
has  little  to  learn  from,  and  possibly  something  to 
teach  to,  even  Anglo-Saxons — their  dwellings,  that 
already  surpass  in  comfort  and  cleanliness  those  of 
any  other  class  of  settlers  excepting  those  from  older 


110 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  CANADA. 


Canada  and  Great  Britain,  all  testify  to  the  desira- 
bility of  the  Doukhobors  as  settlers,  who  will,  I  be- 
lieve, soon  make  good  Canadian  citizens.  It  does  not 
require  very  keen  perception  on  the  part  of  one 
having  had  a  welcome  into  hundreds  of  their  homes 
to  be  assured  that  this  is  a  community  living  up  to 
high  moral  standards  and  holding  tenaciously  to  the 
simple  tenets  of  Christian  faith." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


RELATIONS  WITH  THE  CIVIL  AUTHORITIES. 

"No  phase  of  the  Doukhobor  problem  has  done  more 
to  perplex  the  government  which  extended  them  hos- 
pitality, and  to  embarrass  their  friends  and  well- 
wishers,  than  the  attitude  which  the  Doiikhobors 
have  maintained  toward  the  civil  government.  This 
has  in  many  cases  amounted  to  a  complete  denial  of 
the  authority  and  righteousness  of  any  governmental 
control  over  the  individual,  and  a  persistent  distrust 
of  the  kindest  and  most  well-intentioned  efforts  of 
the  Canadian  government  to  help  them. 

When  I  called  the  representatives  of  forty  vil- 
lages, composing  the  Yorkton  and  Swan  River  colo- 
nies, together  at  Poterpevshe,  it  was  for  the  purpose 
of  explaining  the  position  which  the  Canadian  gov- 
ernment took  in  the  registering  of  homesteads,  mar- 
riages and  births,  and  I  was  impressed  with  the  in- 
ability of  these  men  to  comprehend  that  purpose,  or 
rather  to  free  their  minds  from  the  suspicion  that 
any  compliance  with  the  governmental  regulations 
might  involve  some  ulterior  and  unpleasant  obliga- 
tion— conflicting  with  what  they  understood  to  be 
"  the  law  of  God."  When  the  patriarch,  Ivan  Ma- 
hortov,  quoted  the  Russian  proverb,  "  A  scared  hare 
is  afraid  of  every  stump,"  just  as  we  entered  upon  a 
discussion  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  homestead  law,  I 
felt  distinctly,  and  told  the  delegates,  that  this  was  a 


112 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


most  critical  juncture  in  their  history.  They  ac- 
knowledged the  truth  of  this,  but  they  could  not 
agree  among  themselves  that  it  was  necessary  to  ap- 
ply in  severalty  for  their  homesteads,  even  though 
the  Canadian  government  would  permit  them  to  hold 
their  farms  in  common  after  the  entry  had  been 
made;  and  as  to  registering  marriages  and  births, 
they  thought  it  need  be  no  concern  of  the  govern- 
ment to  know  who  was  married  or  born. 

There  is  one  central  feature  of  their  communal 
life  that  we  shall  do  w^ell  to  consider  carefully, — a 
feature  which  helps  us  to  realize  how  far  back  their 
present  community  instinct  goes,  all  unknown  to 
themselves.  For  generations  and  centuries  the 
peasant  institution  of  the  Mir  has  existed,  and  one 
cannot  but  see  how  advantageous  it  has  been  under 
the  conditions  which  surrounded  the  average  peasant 
in  Russia.  Indeed,  except  for  the  mutual  support 
they  were  enabled  to  give  one  another  by  their  com- 
munal system,  it  would  scarcely  have  been  possible 
for  them  to  survive  all  the  persecutions  to  w^hich  they 
were  subjected.  So  all  who  would  help  them  should 
appreciate  the  hold  this  brotherhood  idea  has  upon 
them,  and  not  press  them  unduly  to  break  away  pre- 
maturely from  their  communal  customs.  It  was 
noticeable  that  in  those  villages  where  all  was  held  in 
common,  as  at  Poterpevshe,  for  instance,  the  comfort 
and  harmony  apparent  were  greater  than  in  some 
other  villages  where  the  individualistic  system  had 
been  adopted. 


EELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT.  113 


While  we  believe  the  Canadian  government  affords 
every  opportunity  to  its  settlers  to  prosper  under  its 
homestead  laws,  yet  no  great  harm  could  result  from 
granting  to  the  Doukhobors  the  privilege  of  possess- 
ing their  lands  in  common;  and  this  has  practically 
been  granted  to  them  until  such  time  as  they  can  see 
the  benefit  of  applying  for  it  in  severalty.  It  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  they  should  dread  to  divide 
up  their  allotments  when  fully  one-third  of  the 
peasants  in  Middle  Russia  have  been  brought  to  utter 
ruin  by  such  division,  and  excessive  taxation  after 
total  failures  of  crops. 

P.  Kropotkin  says:  "  For  the  last  twenty  years  a 
strong  wind  of  opposition  to  the  individual  appropria- 
tion of  the  land  has  been  stirring  again  through  the 
middle  Russian  villages,  and  strenuous  efforts  are 
being  made  by  the  bulk  of  those  peasants  who  stand 
between  the  rich  and  the  very  poor  to  uphold  the 
village  community."  He  further  adds,  after  a  care- 
ful study  of  an  immense  mass  of  material  collected 
during  the  colossal  house-to-house  inquest  conducted 
recently  by  several  zemstvos  (county  councils),  em- 
bracing a  population  of  twenty  millions  in  different 
parts  of  Russia,  that  wherever  the  Russian  peas- 
ants, owing  to  a  concurrence  of  favorable  circum- 
stances, are  less  miserable  than  they  are  on  the  aver- 
age, and  wherever  they  find  men  of  knowledge  and 
initiative  among  their  neighbors,  the  village  com- 
munity becomes  the  very  means  for  introducing 
various  improvements  in  agriculture  and  village  life. 


114 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IX  CANADA. 


Here,  as  elsewhere,  mutual  aid  is  a  better  leader  to 
progress  than  the  war  of  each  against  all,  as  may  be 
seen  from  the  following  facts.  In  South  Russia  the 
use  of  perfected  ploughs  rapidly  spread.  A  village 
community,  after  purchasing  a  plough,  experimented 
upon  a  portion  of  the  communal  land,  and  indicated 
the  necessary  improvements  to  the  makers,  whom 
the  communes  often  aided  in  starting  the  manufac- 
ture of  cheap  ploughs  as  a  village  industry.  In  the 
district  of  Moscow,  where  fifteen  hundred  and  sixty 
ploughs  were  lately  bought  by  the  peasants  during 
five  years,  the  impulse  came  from  those  communes 
which  rented  lands  as  a  body  for  the  special  purpose 
of  improved  culture." 

While  passing  through  the  Doukhobor  villages  one 
could  readily  observe  the  latest  and  best  reaping 
and  other  agricultural  implements  in  those  villages 
where  the  common  purse  was  available  for  their 
purchase. 

In  the  Third  month,  1901,  a  statement  was  issued 
by  a  number  of  Doukhobors  claiming  to  act  as  dele- 
gates from  and  as  representing  "  the  Society  of  the 
Universal  Brotherhood,  in  Canada,"  Underneath 
the  names  of  the  delegates  appears  the  further  sig- 
nature: ^'Address  for  letters,  A.  Bodyansky,  York- 
ton,  Assa.,  Canada."  The  statement  rehearses  at 
some  length  the  questions  at  issue  between  the  Cana- 
dian government  and  the  Doukhobors  (or  a  certain 
party  among  them),  beginning  with  the  petition  pre- 


RELATIONS  WITH  GOVEKNMENT. 


115 


sented  Sixth  month  22d,  1900,  which  was  in  sub- 
stance as  follows: 

"  Petition  to  the  Canadian  government  from  the 
delegates  of  the  Society  of  Universal  Brother- 
hood, near  Yorkton,  Assa. : 
"  Before  everything  else,  we  must  extend  to  you, 
from  the  communities  which  delegated  us,  their  sin- 
cere and  heartfelt  thanks  for  opening  the  country 
which  is  governed  by  you  to  us,  for  your  endeavors 
to  help  us  to  settle  and  for  your  interest  in  our  wel- 
fare. We  feel  and  express  to  you  our  great  grati- 
tude. But  now,  after  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
laws  of  your  country,  we  are  obliged  to  make  another 
request,  that  you  take  into  consideration  our  beliefs, 
which  we  consider  to  be  the  laws  of  God,  and  grant 
us  the  possibility  to  settle  and  live  in  your  country 
without  breaking  those  laws.  You  doubtless  under- 
stand that  we  cannot  break  these  laws,  as  we  believe 
them  to  embody  the  Triath  of  God,  but  we  have 
found  out  that  you  have  in  force  laws  the  fulfillment 
of  which  will  be  a  direct  breaking  of  such  Truth. 
Enumerating  below  what  points  in  your  laws  do  not 
correspond  with  our  understanding  of  the  Divine 
Truth,  we  ask  you  not  to  enforce  against  us  such  of 
your  laws  as  contradict  our  beliefs,  and  thus  give  us 
the  possibility  of  living  in  your  country  without 
breaking,  openly  or  tacitly,  directly  or  indirectly,  our 
conception  of  the  Truth. 

"  (1)  The  laws  of  your  country  require  that  every 


116 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  TS  CANADA. 


male  emigrant  18  years  of  age,  who  wants  to  settle  on 
vacant  government  land,  has  to  record  it  in  his  name, 
and,  after  a  certain  term,  such  land  becomes  his  prop- 
erty. But  we  cannot  accept  such  a  law,  cannot  record 
homesteads  in  our  individual  names,  cannot  make 
them  our  private  property,  for  we  believe  that  in  so 
doing  we  would  break  directly  God's  Truth.  Who 
knows  this  Truth  knows  also  that  it  opposes  the 
acquisition  of  property.  But  if,  through  human 
weakness,  a  man  may  be  forgiven  for  considering  as 
his  own  anything  which  he  has  acquired  by  his  labor, 
and  which  is  necessary  for  his  daily  use,  like  cloth- 
ing, food,  or  household  goods  and  utensils,  there  is 
no  excuse  for  a  man  who,  knowing  the  law  of  God, 
still  appropriates  as  his  own  something  that  is  not  the 
fruit  of  his  labor,  but  was  created  by  God  for  the  use 
of  everybody.  Is  not  the  division,  the  ownership 
and  the  recording  of  land  the  main  cause  of  wars  and 
strife  among  men,  and  is  it  not  the  cause  of  there 
being  masters  and  serfs  ?  The  law  of  God  commands 
men  to  live  like  brothers,  without  divisions,  but  in 
union  for  mutual  help;  but  if  a  man  cuts  out  and  ap- 
propriates land  for  himseK, — land  which  he  did  not 
work  to  create, — how  is  he  going  to  divide  with 
others  the  results  of  his  own  labor?  And  as  every 
breaking  of  Divine  Truth  brings  evil,  so  did  evil  creep 
among  us  when  we  thoughtlessly  accepted  land  under 
your  homestead  laws.  Already  the  division  of  land 
between  our  various  settlements  has  caused  quarrels 
about  that  land  among  us,  quarrels  unknown  to  us 


EELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT. 


117 


heretofore.  And  what  will  be  the  result  if  each  one 
of  us  becomes  the  owner  of  a  separate  piece,  and  the 
land  under  our  settlements  becomes  private  prop- 
erty ?  It  will  prove  a  great  temptation  to  the  strong, 
and  fatal  to  the  weak.  Taking  all  the  above  into 
consideration,  we  petition  you  to  let  us  have  the  land 
for  settlement  and  agricultural  purposes,  not  upon 
your  general  conditions  for  emigrants,  but  upon  the 
conditions  given  to  your  Indians — that  is,  the  land 
to  be  held  by  the  community,  and  not  by  individual 
members.  It  matters  not  to  us  whether  that  land 
be  considered  our  community  property,  or  the  prop- 
erty of  your  country ;  but  we  would  like  it  to  be  con- 
sidered as  given  to  us  for  an  indefinite  period  of 
time,  and  if  you  wish  us  to  pay  rent  we  are  willing  to 
do  so,  provided  we  shall  be  able. 

"  (2)  You  have  also  a  law  in  your  country  that 
everybody  who  wants  to  contract  marriage,  in  order 
to  make  it  legal,  shall  obtain  a  license,  and  pay  two 
dollars  for  the  same;  and  that  a  divorce  can  be  ob- 
tained only  in  the  courts;  and  if  a  person  should  re- 
marry without  a  divorce  so  obtained  he  is  liable  to 
imprisonment  for  many  years. 

"  We  cannot  accept  such  a  law,  for  we  believe 
that  it  also  breaks  the  law  of  God.  We  cannot  be- 
lieve that  a  marriage  can  become  legal  because  it  is 
recorded  in  a  police  register  and  a  fee  of  two  dollars 
paid  for  it;  on  the  contrary,  we  believe  that  such  re- 
cording and  payment  annuls  marriage  and  breaks  up 
its  real  legality.    We  believe  that  the  real  legaliza- 


118 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  I>'  C±yADA. 


tion  of  a  marriage  union  is  when  it  is  brought  about 
freely  as  a  result  of  a  pure  feeling,  of  a  mutual  moral 
affection  between  man  and  woman.  Only  such  a 
pure  feeling  of  love,  bom  of  the  mutual  recognition 
of  moral  traits  of  character,  creates  a  real  legality  of 
a  marriage  according  to  the  law  of  God, — not  a 
record  of  the  same  in  a  police  register  and  a  money 
fee.  Every  marriage  which  has  its  source  in  this 
pure  feeling  of  mutual  love  will  be  legal  before  God, 
although  it  were  not  registered,  and  other  people 
would  not  recognize  its  legality;  and  every  marriage 
not  the  result  of  free  will  and  pure  love,  but  con- 
tracted unwillingly,  or  for  lust,  or  money,  or  any 
other  consideration,  will  be  always  illegal  before 
God,  although  it  should  be  registered  in  all  the 
police  records  and  considered  legal  by  everybody. 
Therefore  we  believe  that  legalization  of  the  mar- 
riage bond  belongs  solely  to  God ;  and  we  cannot  con- 
sent to  transfer  the  legalization  of  our  marriages 
from  God  to  the  police.  As  to  divorce,  we  believe 
that  every  man  who  has  divorced  his  wife  is  an  adul- 
terer, and  forces  her  to  become  an  adulteress;  and 
that  everv  remarriage,  or  marrying  a  divorced  man 
or  woman,  is  also  adultery.  But  we  believe  also  that 
the  law  of  God  is  the  law  of  freedom,  that  an  open 
sin  is  lighter  than  a  secret  one,  and  that  if  a  mar- 
riage union  is  contracted  otherwise  than  through  a 
pure  feeling  of  love,  such  a  union  is  illegal  from  its 
beginning,  and  constitutes  the  sin  of  adultery;  and 
that  therefore  when  persons  living  in  such  an  illegal 


RELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT. 


119 


union  come  to  such  a  conclusion,  and  conceive  the  im- 
possibility of  making  such  a  union  legal,  out  of  two 
evils  the  lesser  for  them  will  be  to  divorce  and  to 
separate.  And  in  such  a  case  a  divorce  may  become 
legal,  if  the  heavenly  Father  will  forgive  the  sin  of 
the  divorced  parties,  and  so  allow  them  to  remarry 
with  free  consciences.  As  the  forgiveness  of  God 
can  be  known  only  to  the  two  people  concerned,  no 
one,  nor  any  human  institution,  can  make  a  divorce 
either  legal  or  illegal,  for  they  cannot  be  competent 
to  know  whether  God  forgave  the  sin  of  divorce  or 
not.  That  can  be  known  only  to  the  consciences  of 
the  divorced  themselves. 

"  In  consideration  of  the  above,  we  cannot  recog- 
nize as  correct,  and  cannot  accept  any  human  laws  as 
to  the  marriage  union,  being  sure  that  all  pertaining 
to  it  is  in  the  province  of  God's  will  and  human  con- 
science. 

"  (3)  There  is  another  law  in  your  country,  which 
requires  that  every  inhabitant  shall  give  notice  to 
the  police  of  every  birth  and  death  in  his  family. 

"  We  cannot  accept  that  law,  for  we  see  no  need 
of  it  in  the  order  of  things  prescribed  by  God.  Our 
heavenly  Father  knows,  without  a  police  register, 
whom  He  sends  into  the  world  and  whom  He  calls 
back.  Only  the  will  of  God  is  important  to  human- 
ity, for  upon  it  depends  our  life  and  death,  and  not 
upon  a  police  register.  A  man  will  live  until  he  is 
called  by  his  Creator,  although  he  should  not  be  re- 


120 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  CANADA. 


corded  in  a  police  register,  and  can  die  immediately 
after  having  been  registered  as  living. 

"  We  do  not  refuse  to  answer,  if  called  upon, 
about  the  number  of  births  and  deaths  in  our  com- 
munities. If  anybody  wants  to  know^  it,  let  him  ask; 
but  we  wdll  not,  of  ourselves,  report  it  to  anv  one. 

"  Having  explained  what  in  the  laws  of  your  coun- 
try is  irreconcilable  with  what  we  consider  the  Di- 
vine Truth,  and  which  we  cannot  break,  we  once 
more  petition  the  government  of  Canada  to  grant  us 
exceptions  concerning  the  use  of  lands,  legality  of 
marriage  unions,  and  registration,  in  order  that  we 
may  live  in  Canada  without  breaking  the  Divine 
Truth  as  we  understand  it." 


To  this  petition  no  formal  reply  was  made  by  the 
government  officials  until  nearly  six  months  had 
elapsed,  but  quiet  measures  were  taken  to  have  the 
known  friends  and  benefactors  of  the  Doukhobors 
attempt  to  dissuade  them  from  their  refractory  and 
dangerous  course.  Aylmer  Maude,  who  had  taken  a 
prominent  part  in  the  direction  of  the  exodus  from 
Russia,  wrote  a  letter,  which  was  widely  circulated 
by  government  agents  in  the  Doukhobor  settlements, 
pointing  out  the  weakness  and  the  necessary  futility 
of  the  petition.  A  committee  of  Philadelphia 
Yearly  Meeting  also  drafted  and  forwarded  to  the 
villages  the  following  communication: 


KELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT. 


121 


TO  THE  CHEISTIANS  OF  THE  TJNIVEKSAL  BROTHEEHOOD 
IN  CANADA. 

"  The  Friends  of  Philadelphia  Send  Greeting. 

"  From  the  time  your  trials  through  persecution 
became  known  to  us  our  hearts  have  gone  out  to  you, 
and  our  minds  have  been  affected  by  the  griefs  you 
were  made  to  bear. 

"  We  still  greatly  desire  your  welfare,  both  in  the 
things  which  increase  your  comfort  in  this  world,  and 
in  that  spiritual  knowledge  and  holy  obedience  to  the 
laws  of  God  which  come  to  us  through  faith  in  Him; 
and  in  the  possession  and  practice  of  which  we  are 
saved  with  an  everlasting  salvation  through  Jesus 
Christ. 

"  We  desire  to  be  closely  united  with  you  in  seel:- 
ing  after  this  hope  of  eternal  life  which  our  Father 
in  heaven  has  revealed  to  the  children  of  men  by  the 
sending  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  into  the  world.  He 
is  indeed  our  King  and  Law-giver,  and  it  is  He  whom 
we  must  obey,  as  He  makes  known  to  us  His  holy 
will.  This  we  believe  He  does,  both  by  the  Light  of 
His  Holy  Spirit  in  the  secret  of  our  hearts,  and  by 
the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  holy 
men  of  old  wrote  as  they  were  moved  by  the  spirit  of 
truth. 

"  Ancient  Israel  acknowledged  God  to  be  their 
ruler  and  guide,  but  at  the  same  time  were  given 
written  laws  to  regulate  their  actions  and  dealings, 
which  were  administered  by  men  who  were  appointed 


122 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  CA^'ADA. 


for  this  purpose;  and  to  these  good  laws  and  human 
rulers  the  people  submitted  themselves. 

"  After  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  into 
the  world,  His  apostles  enjoined  obedience  to  out- 
ward rulers,  as  being  those  who  in  the  providence  of 
God  are  set  over  the  nations  and  peoples  to  preserve 
order  amongst  them. 

"  The  Apostle  Paul  wrote,  ^  These  are  God's  min- 
isters attending  to  these  very  things';  and  again, 
^  Eulers  are  His  ministers  to  us  for  good,  and  to  them 
we  must  be  obedient,  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for 
conscience'  sake.'  He  commands  that  we  should 
pray  for  kings  and  for  all  who  are  in  authority,  that 
we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godli- 
ness and  honesty.  Xow,  we  are  aware  you  have  lived 
under  a  government  which  has  required  you  to  do 
some  things  which  are  directly  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  Christ, — to  fight  and  destroy  men's  lives,  and  to 
offer  to  God  a  worship  which  is  not  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  These  are  matters  in  which  the  rule  of  Christ, 
as  it  is  plainly  laid  down  in  His  teaching,  is  denied 
and  set  at  naught.  And  in  these  matters  Christians 
ought  to  obey  Him  rather  than  men. 

There  are,  however,  many  laws  enacted  by  men 
which  contribute  to  peace  and  good  order  among 
them,  by  securing  to  all  their  just  rights  and  privi- 
leges, and  give  to  every  one  an  opportunity  to  seek 
his  own  welfare  without  at  the  same  time  depriving 
others  of  the  like  opportunity. 

"  Among  these  laws  which  we  approve  a?  being 


RELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT. 


123 


agreeable  to  the  Divine  law  is  the  holding  of  land  in 
individual  ownership,  by  which  the  legal  occupant 
may  improve,  cultivate  and  use  it  for  his  own  main- 
tenance and  for  the  general  advantage  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lives. 

"  It  is  easily  perceived  that  such  laws  help  to  pre- 
serve the  peace,  by  preventing  unjust  and  covetous 
persons  appropriating  to  themselves  the  fruits  of  the 
labor  of  those  who  are  industrious  and  quiet  in  their 
lives. 

"  There  are  persons  in  almost  all  countries  who 
disregard  justice  and  honesty,  and  it  is  to  restrain 
and  correct  these  that  laws  are  made :  as  the  Apostle 
Paul  has  written,  ^  the  law  is  not  made  for  a  right- 
eous man,  but  for  the  lawless  and  disobedient,  for 
the  ungodly  and  for  sinners.'  Righteous  people  in- 
tend to  live  holy  and  innocent  lives,  but  are  willing 
to  be  put  to  whatever  inconvenience  may  come  to 
them  in  complying  with  laws  made  for  the  general 
good,  in  order  to  give  the  influence  of  their  example 
in  favor  of  good  government,  that  it  may  not  be 
weakened  in  its  dealings  with  those  who  practice  in- 
justice and  crime. 

"  While  we  speak  of  ownership  in  land  and  other 
property,  as  Christians  we  know  that  ourselves  and 
all  that  we  possess  belong  to  God,  and  that  we  are 
only  stewards  to  use  that  which  has  been  honestly  ac- 
quired for  His  glory  and  for  the  good  of  our  neigh- 
bors who  need  help.  Therefore,  in  this  sense  none 
of  us  can  say  that  what  he  possesses  is  his  own;  but 


124 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


as  a  steward  to  whom  has  been  entrusted  a  charge 
he  should  manage  and  use  it  for  the  benefit  of  his 
fellow-creatures  as  well  as  for  himself.  We  will  re- 
member and  observe  the  golden  rule,  *  Whatsoever 
ye  desire  that  men  should  do  to  you  do  ye  likewise 
even  so  to  them.' 

"  In  the  covenant  of  marriage  our  Saviour  has  laid 
down  a  rule  which  his  followers  are  bound  to  observe. 
It  is  this:  'Whom  God  has  joined  together  let  not 
man  put  asunder/  '  Whosoever  puts  away  his  wife 
saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  and  marries  an- 
other, commits  adultery;  and  he  that  marries  her 
when  she  is  put  away  commits  adultery.' 

"  It  is  the  duty  of  human  government  to  prevent 
vice  and  immorality  in  this  matter,  and  to  make  reg- 
ulations by  which  children  should  be  cared  for  by 
their  parents,  which  would  not  be  the  case  if  parents 
loosely  lived  together,  and  separated  when  they  are 
tempted  to  cohabit  with  another  person. 

"  Much  scandal  and  reproach  would  result  to  the 
Christian  name  if  those  who  claim  it  adopt  a  practice 
sometimes  called  free  love;  or  allow  a  man  to  have  at 
the  same  time  more  than  one  wife,  or  a  woman  more 
than  one  husband.  Death  of  a  wife  or  husband  can 
alone  dissolve  the  marriage  tie;  after  which  the  sur- 
vivor is  free  to  marry  again,  if  done  in  the  liberty  of 
the  spirit. 

"  The  laws  of  Christian  nations  rightly  forbid  such 
libertine  practices,  and  the  laws  of  Canada  requiring 
the  registration  of  marriages  are  designed  to  pre- 


RELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT. 


125 


vent  bigamy  by  making  it  plain  who  are  joined  in 
marriage,  while  the  registration  of  births  shows  who 
are  the  children  of  married  parents,  and  who  are  re- 
sponsible for  their  care. 

"  We  thus  address  you,  our  Christian  brothers,  in 
the  desire  to  help  you  to  accept  the  experience  of 
many  who  are  and  have  been  the  faithful  servants  s 
of  God,  and  yet  have,  in  these  things  to  which  we 
herein  refer,  been  able  with  a  good  conscience  in  the 
sight  of  their  Maker  and  Saviour  to  be  governed  by 
the  laws  of  the  countries  in  which  they  live.  Among 
the  members  of  our  (Friends)  Society  we  have 
known  no  instance  of  any  one  refusing  to  comply 
with  the  laws  of  their  country  regarding  the  registry 
of  land  titles,  marriages,  births,  and  deaths;  although 
many  of  them  have  suffered  much  for  their  conscien- 
tious objections  to  war,  oaths,  tithes  to  the  clergy, 
and  other  matters  relating  to  religion. 

While  human  government  is  so  often  enforced 
by  the  use  of  deadly  weapons  and  the  punishment  of 
death,  and  in  those  respects  is  opposed  to  the  law 
of  love  and  mercy  enjoined  by  the  teaching  and  spirit 
of  Jesus  Christ,  yet  Christians  have  safe  precepts 
and  examples  for  submitting  to  and  actively  comply- 
ing with  those  requirements  which  are  intended  to 
promote  the  general  welfare  of  a  nation,  without  in- 
volving any  acts  which  are  injurious  to  their  fellow- 
men,  or  are  contrary  to  the  worship  and  service  due 
to  x\lmighty  God,  whose  we  are  and  whom  we  wish 
to  glorify. 


126 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


"  We  therefore  would  persuade  you  to  humbly 
look  up  to  Him,  and  ask  that  He  will  give  you  light 
and  grace  to  see  and  believe  that  He  will  justify  you 
in  complying  with  the  laws  of  Canada  which  are  now 
referred  to,  and  enable  you  to  enjoy  with  thankful 
hearts  the  fruits  of  His  goodness,  in  making  a  way 
for  settlement  in  a  country  where  peace  and  liberty 
of  conscience  are  so  largely  found. 

"  We  heve  been  instructed  and  encouraged  by 
your  faithfulness  to  religious  convictions,  in  refusing 
to  take  any  part  in  preparation  for  war,  and  by  learn- 
ing, of  the  dreadful  persecution  you  suffered  for  the 
possession  of  a  good  conscience.  Our  desire  now  is 
that  we  may  be  closely  united  together  in  the  bonds 
of  Christian  love  and  fellowship,  and  that  we  may 
continue  to  be  helpers  of  each  other  towards  the 
heavenly  kingdom. 

"  Jos.  S.  Elkinton. 

"  George  M.  Comfort. 

"  Ephraim  Smith. 

"  Jonathan  E.  Rhoads. 

"  Samuel  Morris. 

"  William  L.  Bailey. 

"  William  Evans.'* 

The  extreme  solicitude  expressed  in  this  communi- 
cation for  the  maintenance  of  pure  morals  among 
the  Doukhobors  shows  very  forcibly  the  alarm  which 
the  incident  created.  Even  the  best  friends  of  the 
Brotherhood,  not  without  reason,  took  the  argument 


RELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT.  127 

against  the  licensing  and  registration  of  marriages  to 
be  a  plea  for  loose  family  relations.  Fortunately,  it 
has  been  shown  beyond  a  doubt  that  such  laxity  is 
almost  utterly  unknown  amongst  the  Doukhobors, 
and  the  sinister  meaning  which  it  was  feared  lay  in 
this  demand  is  seen  to  be  nothing  worse  than  per- 
versity or  infirmity  of  mind  and  temper.  It  is  against 
this  perversity,  obstinacy  and  density  that  the  fur- 
ther efforts  of  the  Dominion  government  and  other 
friends  of  the  Doukhobors  have  been  directed.  In 
First  month,  1901,  the  following  reply  to  the  peti- 
tion of  the  Doukhobors  was  sent  from  the  Canadian 
Department  of  the  Interior : 

"  Ottawa,  7th  January,  1901. 

"  Semen  Semenov,  Vassili  Popov  and  others,  village 
Blagodarofra. 
"Dear  Sirs; — In  further  reference  to  your  peti- 
tion to  the  government  of  Canada,  of  the  2 2d  of 
June  last,  I  beg  to  say,  that  since  my  interview  with 
your  head  men  in  the  month  of  November,  I  have 
discussed  the  subject-matter  of  the  said  petition  with 
the  authorities  here,  and  in  reply  can  only  state  what 
has  already  been  written  you,  namely,  that  in  refer- 
ence to  the  question  of  taking  up  land  it  can  only  be 
done  in  the  ordinary  way.  We  have  only  one  system 
of  granting  free  homesteads  to  settlers,  and  the  same 
rules  apply  to  every  settler  coming  into  the  province 
of  Manitoba  or  the  Northwest  Territories,  irrespec- 


128 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


tive  of  his  nationality  or  religious  belief.  These 
rules  and  regulations  are  the  result  of  many  years' 
experience,  and  have  been  found  to  be  the  best,  both 
in  the  interests  of  the  settler  and  of  the  country  in 
general. 

"  I  might  point  out  to  you  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  the  government  to  retain  lands  for  your  peo- 
ple unless  they  have  entered  each  man  for  his  own 
homestead,  as  the  lands  would  appear  vacant  in  our 
books,  and  other  parties  would  go  and  settle  on  them 
and  apply  for  entry,  and  we  would  have  no  grounds 
for  refusing  to  grant  the  same. 

"  I  might  further  say,  however,  that  after  your 
individual  settlers  have  completed  their  homestead 
duties  a  patent  will  issue  to  each  homesteader,  giv- 
ing him  the  full  and  absolute  ownership  of  the  land, 
after  which  it  is  his  own  to  dispose  of  as  he  thinks 
best,  and  if  your  people  should  then  decide  to  appoint 
trustees  to  hold  the  land  in  common  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  all  the  people,  that  is  a  matter  about  which 
you  can  do  as  they  wish,  and  one  in  which  the  gov- 
ernment will  not  interfere  in  any  way.  You  will 
notice  that  all  your  own  friends  (both  Mr.  Maude 
and  the  Quaker  Society  of  England)  take  exactly  the 
same  view  which  we  do  on  this  question,  and  I  there- 
fore trust  that  you  will  at  once  set  about  having  your 
entries  made  for  this  land. 

"  As  before  stated,  if  it  is  not  convenient  for  your 
people  to  pay  an  entry  fee  at  the  present  time,  the 
entry  may  still  be  made,  and  we  will  charge  the  entry 


EELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT. 


129 


fee  as  a  lien  against  the  land,  to  be  paid  off  with  in- 
terest at  six  per  cent,  per  annum  before  the  patent 
can  issue. 

"  The  government  is  quite  willing  that  your  peo- 
ple should  reside  in  villages,  the  cultivation  of  course 
to  be  done  on  the  individual  homesteads. 

"  In  reference  to  that  portion  of  your  petition 
concerning  the  giving  of  information  for  the  prepa- 
ration of  vital  statistics,  relating  to  births,  deaths 
and  marriages,  I  might  say  that  this  matter  comes 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  local  government  at 
Regina.  There  is,  however,  no  possibility  that  your 
wishes  in  this  matter  can  be  met.  On  this  subject 
there  is  one  law  for  all  the  people  of  Canada,  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  it  applies  to  every- 
one, and  the  question  of  making  any  changes  in  re- 
spect to  the  Doukhobors  will  not  be  considered  for 
a  moment.  A  complete  public  record  must  be  kept 
of  every  person  married,  with  names  and  dates,  and 
of  every  child  born,  and  of  every  person  who  dies. 
This  is  the  usual  system,  as  you  are  aware,  and  has 
never  been  objected  to  by  anybody,  and  good,  law- 
abiding  people  have  no  reason  to  fear  compliance 
with  this  part  of  the  Canadian  law. 

"  In  conclusion,  I  may  state  that  the  people  of 
Canada  were  pleased  to  have  you  come  to  their  coun- 
try. They  are  prepared  to  treat  you  liberally  and 
well;  to  put  you  on  an  exact  equality  with  them- 
selves; to  give  you  the  benefit  and  protection  of  their 
laws;  but,  as  I  stated  to  you  at  our  interview,  no  spe- 


130 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


cial  laws  will  be  made  for  your  people,  nor  will  they 
be  treated  in  a  different  manner  from  any  other  class 
of  settlers  in  the  country,  or  who  may  come  into  the 
country. 

"  As  soon  as  you  have  been  three  years  in  Canada 
you  may  become  full  citizens,  and  have  the  same 
voice  in  the  making  of  our  laws  as  we  have  our- 
selves. 

"  On  this  point  there  will  be  no  object  in  continu- 
ing the  discussion,  as  the  laws  of  the  country  must 
prevail  absolutely,  and  you  will  find  as  you  become 
better  acquainted  with  the  laws  of  Canada  that  it  is 
only  the  wicked  and  vicious  who  have  any  reason  to 
fear  them.  Therefore  I  trust  that  in  all  these  mat- 
ters you  will  see  that  it  is  to  your  own  interest  to 
give  a  ready  and  cheerful  compliance  to  our  laws,  in 
accordance  with  the  advice  of  your  own  friends. 
"  Yours  truly, 

"  J.  G.  SUREIFF, 

"  Commissioner  Dominion  Lands." 

To  this  letter,  as  to  that  of  Aylmer  Maude,  the 
committee  of  delegates  made  reply,  adhering  to  the 
ground  taken  in  the  original  petition,  and  repeating 
their  previous  arguments,  with  very  little  sign  of 
comprehension  of  the  case  against  them,  or  of  the 
admirable  patience  and  restraint  shown  by  the 
authorities.  In  fact,  they  went  a  step  beyond  their 
previous  position  to  make  direct  charges  of  falsehood 


RELATIONS   WITH  GOVERNMENT. 


131 


and  bad  faith  against  their  friends  because  these  did 
not  approve  the  petition. 

Here,  substantially,  the  case  has  stood  ever  since, 
and  still  stands.  The  Dominion  authorities  have 
naturally  been  unwilling  to  proceed  to  harsh  meas- 
ures to  enforce  their  authority,  and  the  matter  has 
largely  been  allowed  to  drift,  in  the  hope  that  the 
logic  of  events  would  finally  penetrate  the  reasoning 
faculties  of  the  recalcitrants.  In  this  hope  they  have 
been  partially  justified.  In  certain  localities,  and 
under  the  influence  of  certain  persons,  much  progress 
has  been  made, — homesteads  have  been  duly  en- 
tered, the  registration  laws  have  been  complied  with, 
and  whole  settlements  have  made  substantial  prog- 
ress in  enlightenment.  On  the  other  hand,  many 
localities  have  made  no  sensible  progress  whatever, 
and  new  vagaries,  such  as  the  Pilgrimage  described 
in  a  preceding  chapter,  have  arisen  to  vex  the 
officials. 

The  recent  arrival  of  Peter  Yerigin  in  Canada, 
after  his  release  from  his  long  exile  in  Russia,  may 
prove  the  needed  solvent  to  this  vexed  situation. 
According  to  the  Manitoba  Free  Press,  of  Winni- 
peg, it  is  con£dently  expected  that  "  his  counsel  will 
solve  the  Doukhobor  problem,  probably  for  all  time, 
one  way  or  the  other.  If  he  recommends  the  com- 
munities to  enter  for  their  lands,  and  in  other  re- 
spects obey  the  regulations  of  Canadian  law,  they 
will  certainly  loyally  comply.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  endorses  the  stand  of  agitators  and  ex-pilgrims, 


132 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CAJfADA. 


all  hopes  of  the  Doukhobors'  submission  may  be 
abandoned.  In  either  case  the  course  of  the  govern- 
ment vnll  be  simplified.  In  the  latter  alternative  the 
land  at  present  occupied  by  the  Doukhobors  will 
probably  be  thrown  open  for  settlement.  The 
authorities  hope,  however,  that  Verigin's  coming 
may  lead  to  a  complete  and  speedy  pacification  of  all 
the  communities."  In  this  hope  all  the  friends  of 
the  Doukhobors  will  fervently  join. 

One  of  the  puzzles  of  the  situation  is  to  know  the 
real  attitude  of  the  great  body  of  the  Brotherhood 
in  these  matters,  and  the  extent  to  which  the  peti- 
tion and  the  subsequent  writings  in  the  controversy 
represent  the  real  sentiments  of  the  communities. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  these  communications  ema- 
nate from  Yorkton,  the  least  progressive  of  the  set- 
tlements; and  that  the  person  who  seems  to  have 
drawn  up  the  instruments  is  one  A.  Bodyansky. 
After  investigating  the  matter  the  Dominion  officials 
reached  the  conclusion  that  Bodyansky  was  little 
better  than  a  professional  agitator,  and  he  was  finally 
forced  to  leave  the  country.  It  is  yet  too  early  to 
know  the  result  of  this  move,  and  there  seems  good 
ground  for  hoping  that  the  situation  has  been  im- 
proved thereby,  but  this  is  by  no  means  certain.  It 
seems  likely  that  while  Bodyansky  was  directly  re- 
sponsible for  fomenting  much  of  the  disturbance,  he 
had  the  material  ready  to  his  hand  in  the  shape  of 
widespread  discontent  and  unrest.  As  has  been 
before  stated,  only  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 


RELATIONS  WITH  GOVEENMEXT. 


133 


Doukhobors  can  read  and  write,  and  thej  are  there- 
fore necessarily  dependent  on  some  lettered  person 
for  the  statement  of  their  case  in  writing.  Of  course 
under  such  circumstances  no  one  would  expect  a 
document  like  the  petition  to  state  accurately  the 
views  of  the  uneducated  majority,  but  it  is  probable 
that  it  did  represent,  though  crudely  and  indefinitely, 
the  existing  mass  of  discontent  and  unrest,  the  most 
prominent  characteristic  of  which  was  simply  an  in- 
stinctive and  inbred  attitude  of  antagonism  to  all 
government. 

Unreasonable  and  childish  as  this  attitude  appears 
to  the  citizen  of  a  free  government,  it  can  be  largely 
explained  by  the  experience  of  the  Doukhobors 
under  the  Russian  despotism.  When  government  is 
essentially  tyranny  there  is  small  wonder  if  its  vic- 
tims come  to  look  on  all  government  as  unrighteous. 
Yet  there  is  room  and  need,  and  we  believe  there  is 
capacity,  on  their  part,  for  a  better  understanding  of 
the  essential  functions  of  all  right  government,  and 
in  particular  of  the  enlightened  and  benevolent  free 
government  under  whose  care  they  now  find  them- 
selves. We  appreciate  how  their  conception  of 
Christ's  kingdom  of  peace  and  brotherhood  cannot 
be  reconciled  with  the  militarism  which  is  so  insepa- 
rably connected  with  most  of  the  governments  of  the 
civilized  world,  but  there  is  a  wide  difference  be- 
tween this  belated  method  of  settling  disputes  and 
those  governmental  regulations  which  are  necessary 
for  the  common  welfare  of  all  citizens  of  a  free  re- 


134 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  CANADA. 


public  or  limited  monarchy.  To  educate  the  Douk- 
hobors  to  a  sense  of  these  differences,  and  to  an  open- 
ness to  receive  and  appreciate  new  ideas,  is  undoubt- 
edly the  crying  need  of  the  situation. 

To  honor  one's  conscience  is  a  duty,  but  to  dis- 
credit another's  is  far  from  admirable.  While  we 
share  the  Brotherhood  idea  of  equality  in  all  spir- 
itual privileges,  we  think  those  privileges  ought  to  be 
conceded  to  mankind  at  large,  and  not  so  interpreted 
as  to  mean  that  loe  are  the  only  people  who  have  the 
oracles  of  God. 

The  liberty  to  follow  the  dictates  of  their  con- 
science can  in  no  wise  release  them  from  their  obli- 
gation to  support  a  government  so  liberal  as  that 
under  which,  in  the  good  providence  of  God,  they 
now  live, — a  government  whose  chief  purpose  is  to 
secure  "  the  blessings  of  life,  liberty  and  the  pur- 
suit of  happiness,"  and  one  that  has  released  them 
from  any  necessity  to  violate  their  conscience  by 
military  service. 

By  their  peaceful  but  firm  refusal  to  obey  the  un- 
christian demands  of  any  law  they  did  not  believe  to 
be  consistent  with  that  of  God,  they  have  been 
driven  into  a  false  position  toward  all  government, 
and  the  writings  of  Count  Tolstoi  and  his  followers 
have  emphasized  this  disposition.  The  habit  of 
passive  submission  to  any  punishment  inflicted  by 
the  civil  or  military  authorities  has  become  so  fixed 
as  to  continue  after  the  original  cause  has  been  re- 
moved, and  we  may  well  remember  how  frequently 


EELATIOJfS  WITH  GOVEKNMENT. 


135 


this  tendency  has  appeared  in  the  religious  history 
of  all  ages  and  sects  1 

As  this  volume  was  passing  through  the  press  my 
attention  was  directed  to  a  consideration  of  these 
questions  in  a  work  by  P.  Birukov.*  The  author  was 
one  of  three  Russian  gentlemen  who  went  to  the 
Caucasus  about  the  time  the  Doukhobors  were  most 
severely  persecuted  (1897),  in  order  to  investigate 
their  troubles  and  report  the  facts  to  the  Czar.  His 
interest  in  suffering  humanity  was  rewarded  by  being 
permanently  exiled  from  his  native  land.  As  he 
has  given  much  thought  to  their  needs,  I  gladly  give 
space  to  his  suggestions  for  a  solution  of  the  present 
difiSculties. 

He  says:  "Their  [the  Doukhobors']  failure  to 
yield  obedience  is  shown  in  many  ways,  from  the 
refusal  to  give  military  service,  to  the  refusal  to  un- 
cover their  heads  before  the  state  officials,  and  even 
the  Czar. 

"  But  such  is  the  power  of  a  religious  idea  that  the 
swords  of  their  persecutors  were  dulled,  and  the 
oppressed  sect  increased  and  their  devotions  spread. 

The  Doukhobors  who  emigrated  to  Canada, 
while  welcoming  their  happy  removal  from  a  land 
of  persecution  to  one  of  liberty,  do  not  wish  the  gov- 
ernment of  Canada  to  interfere  with  their  affairs. 


*  "  Tolstoi  et  les  Doukhobors,"  translated  from  the  Russian 
into  the  French  by  J.  W.  Bienstock,  Paris,  1902. 


136  THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 

They  consent  to  pay  tribute  to  Edward  VII.,  as  they 
did  to  Alexander,  and  to  Mcholas,  but  they  are  not 
disposed  to  submit  to  the  civil  law."  * 

"  Two  issues  can  end  this  conflict :  first,  under  the 
influence  of  their  new  surroundings,  and,  by  recogni- 
tion of  Canadian  life,  the  removal  of  their  objection 
to  individualism  could  be  brought  about,  and  the 
Doukhobors  would  submit  to  all  the  demands  of  the 
Canadian  government;  secondly,  if  their  protest 
against  individualism  becomes  strengthened,  the 
Doukhobors  will  submit  to  persecution,  but  never- 
theless the  government  of  Canada  will  be  forced  to 
recognize  their  independence,  and  they  will  be  set- 
tled in  a  country  apart,  which  will  be  given  to  them. 
The  government  of  Canada  hesitates  to  take  one  or 
the  other  of  these  courses,  and  in  putting  off  the 
decisive  step  shows  its  true  wisdom.  But  all  this 
affair  is  complicated  by  the  interference  of  a  foreign 
element.  One  of  the  friends  of  the  Doukhobors  who 
lived  with  them  in  the  Caucasus,  full  of  sympathy 
for  their  exalted  Christian  ideals,  for  which  the 
Doukhobors  were  persecuted,  left  Russia  and  be- 
came literary  interpreter  of  the  Doukhobor  protesta- 
tions against  the  government  of  Canada. 


*  I  found  this  to  be  the  case  to  considerable  extent  in  all 
their  colonies,  with  this  difference,  however,  between  the 
Prince  Albert  and  the  Yorkton  settlements, — that  in  the 
former  the  taking  up  of  homesteads  was  not  considered  a  vio- 
lation of  their  desire  to  be  free  from  all  connection  with  the 
government. 


RELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT. 


137 


"  He  gave,  according  to  the  expression  of  one  of 
the  emigrants, — an  intellectual  man  living  among 
the  Doukhobors  in  Canada, — ^  the  Christian  phrase- 
ology '  to  the  request  of  the  Doukhobors. 

"  But  the  motive  for  the  protestation  he  raised  to 
a  higher  Christian  and  anarchistical  view  than  was 
shared  in  by  all  the  Doukhobors.  But  as  these  are 
illiterate,  they  accept  this  literary  expression  of  the 
protest  more  on  account  of  confidence  in  the  author 
than  by  their  absolute  acquaintance  with  its  con- 
tents. To  our  question  as  to  what  they  thought  of 
the  contents  of  the  request,  one  of  the  signers 
answered :  ^  As  to  that  which  Bodyansky  has  written, 
you  know  that  we  have  not  enough  mind  to  under- 
stand each  word,  and  there  are  certain  words  which 
do  not  suit  us  at  all,  but  Bodyansky  is  a  tenacious 
old  man,  and  interprets  always  according  to  his  own 
way.'  Yet  in  letters  of  the  Doukhobors  who  have 
signed  the  request  is  expressed  the  firm  resolution 
not  to  yield  to  the  government  of  Canada  upon  three 
points  which  form  the  object  of  the  request:  indi- 
vidual property-holding,  civil  marriage,  and  civil 
registration. 

"  The  protest  against  the  formality  of  the  acts  of 
individual  sale  does  not  bear  upon  landed  property 
in  general, — it  is  directed  against  the  interference  of 
the  state  in  the  division  of  land. 

"  The  protest  against  the  interference  with  their 
marriage  customs  is  not  against  marriage  in  general, 


138 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IX  CANADA. 


but  against  the  interference  of  the  government  in 
the  institution  of  civil  marriage. 

"  So  their  protest  against  registration  is  not 
against  registration  in  general,  but  against  the  obli- 
gation to  communicate  to  government  information 
about  their  interior  life. 

In  addition  to  the  written  declaration  of  this 
kind  by  the  Doukhobors  themselves,  that  which  con- 
firms our  remarks  is  that  the  most  Christian  part  of 
the  protestations, — that  against  landed  proprietaries, 
— is  shared  bv  only  a  small  minority  of  the  Doukho- 
bors; while  the  protest  against  the  civil  registration, 
which  touches  least  the  Christian  doctrine,  is  shared 
in  by  almost  all  the  Doukhobors  of  the  three  colo- 
nies, even  by  those  who  have  not  submitted  to  the 
intellectual  influence  above  mentioned. 

The  situation  being  thus  set  forth,  we  are  going 
to  try  to  solve  the  very  diflBcult  question:  What 
should  the  two  adverse  parties  do  ?  That  is  to  say, 
the  Doukhobors,  who  do  not  wish  to  submit  to  the 
demands  of  the  government  of  Canada,  and  the  gov- 
ernment of  Canada,  which  does  not  wish  to  give  up 
to  these  demands. 

"  We  are  far  from  desiring  to  take  to  ourselves  the 
role  of  master  and  guide  in  this  affair,  but  we  believe 
it  our  duty  to  explain  our  opinion,  since  the  Douk- 
hobors themselves  have  asked  counsel  from  us. 

As  to  the  Doukhobors,  we  believe  above  all  that 
they  ought  to  be  enlightened  concerning  all  that  is 
being  done  around  them,  and  this  is  why  they  ought 


EELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNMENT. 


139 


to  cease  to  call  their  opposition  '  the  most  Christian 
act '  of  the  Universal  Fraternity,  and  to  simply  call 
it  the  obligation  for  the  Doukhobors  to  recognize 
their  autonomy. 

"  It  is  then  in  this  sense  that  it  is  necessary  to  en- 
gage in  discussion  with  the  government  of  Canada, 
since  under  all  circumstances  pecuniary  relations 
will  be  maintained  between  them.  The  Doukhobors 
should  elect  among  themselves  representatives  who 
will  be  charged  with  the  necessary  relations  with  the 
government  of  Canada.  And  as  probably  the  gov- 
ernment of  Canada  could  adapt  its  regulations  to 
their  conscience,  these  same  attorneys  should  hold 
these  registries  in  the  most  convenient  way  for  the 
Doukhobors  to  comply  with  the  law. 

"  This  would  not  in  any  way  prevent  the  Douk- 
hobors from  continuing  their  advance  in  moral  de- 
velopment and  their  aspirations  to  attain  ideals  of 
pure  Christianity.  In  the  same  way  this  will  not 
prevent  the  development  among  them  of  the  princi- 
ples of  communism  or  of  the  abolition  of  property  in 
severalty. 

"  What  should  the  government  of  Canada  do  ? 

"  First,  continue  the  policy  of  waiting  that  it  has 
wisely  adopted,  and  not  be  in  haste  to  take  a  decisive 
step;  second,  if  it  is  possible,  do  everything  available 
to  yield  to  the  demands  of  the  Doukhobors.  Such  a 
policy  will  be  most  advantageous  for  it  and  for  them, 
considering  how,  during  the  fifty  years  of  life  of  the 
Doukhobors  in  the  Caucasus,  they  were  the  most 


140 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  CANADA. 


exact  in  paying  taxes,  and  that  during  this  period  no 
one  was  arrested  for  civil  or  criminal  misdemeanor. 

"  Since  for  their  individualism  the  Doukhobors  do 
not  demand  any  right,  but  only  the  possession,  with- 
out obstacles,  of  the  land  which  will  be  assigned  to 
them,  it  seems  to  us  possible  to  satisfy  their  de- 
mand/' 

While  thus  advising  the  policy  of  Christian  for- 
bearance to  our  good  neighbors  of  the  Dominion,  we 
have  a  word  also  for  our  dear  friends,  the  Doukho- 
bors, who  have  received  abundant  evidence  of  sym- 
pathy from  the  present  administration. 

We  would  ask  them  seriously  to  consider  what 
Christian  good  will  was  manifested  upon  their  arrival 
on  these  shores;  how  thoroughly  welcome  they  were, 
and  what  efforts  their  best  friends,  among  all  de- 
nominations, made,  together  with  the  officials  upon 
whom  devolved  so  heavily  the  labor  of  settling  them. 
We  ask  how  they  can  possibly  regard  such  evidences 
of  disinterested  kindness  otherwise  than  as  proceed- 
ing from  hearts  like  their  own,  which  are  ever  ready 
to  supply  the  needs  of  the  suffering  ? 

We  would,  after  having  enjoyed  their  confidence 
and  their  hospitality,  express  the  fullest  appreciation 
of  their  conscientious  convictions,  but  would  ask  in 
return  that  they  will  consider  the  Canadian  govern- 
ment has  only  one  purpose  in  its  requirements,  and 
that  is  to  give  all  who  come  to  live  under  it  the  great- 


EELATIONS  WITH  GOVERNiMEIsT. 


141 


est  opportunity  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  freedom, 
both  material  and  religious. 

Nothing  could  be  more  natural  than  a  suspicion 
that  some  advantage  is  likely  to  be  taken  of  us  when 
for  a  century  we  have  suffered  from  every  point  of 
contact  with  a  cruel  government,  but  why  should  we 
so  misjudge  the  character  and  actions  of  one  which  i 
has  shown  so  much  consideration  for  us  ? 


fl^fie  £xotiu5  from  Eu00ia. 


J^onkhobor  Settlements  in  the  Russian  Empire. 

The  Milky  Waters  colony  was  just  north  of  Sevastopol  and  bordering  on  the 
Sea  of  Azov.  The  settlements  in  the  Caiicasus  were  in  the  three  jirovinces  of 
Tiflis,  Kars,  and  Eli/.abetpol,  between  the  Caucasian  Mountains  and  the 
Persian  frontier,  as  indicated  by  dotted  lines.  The  Doukhobors  first  apjieared 
in  the  territory  between  the  Black  Sea  and  the  dotted  line  to  the  north  of  it. 


CHAPTEK  I. 


EECENT  PERSECUTIONS. 

The  story  of  the  rise,  progress  and  persecutions  of 
the  Doukhobors  is  a  long  and  bitter  one,  running 
back  into  the  dim  light  of  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  Those  events  which  directly  brought 
about  their  emigration  to  Canada  are,  however,  com- 
paratively recent,  and  to  understand  these  we  need 
only  glance  at  their  history  during  the  last  genera- 
tion. 

A  period  of  comparative  ease  and  prosperity  in- 
tervened between  the  last  Turkish  war,  in  1877,  and 
1887,  when  universal  conscription  was  introduced  into 
the  Caucasus.  The  strict  observance  of  the  religious 
practices  of  the  Doukhobors  lapsed  to  some  extent, 
and  considerable  money  was  accumulated  by  their 
several  communities.  In  some  of  these  an  Orphan 
House  was  established,  and  the  presiding  officer  came 
to  have  almost  unlimited  influence  over  the  brother- 
hood— now  settled  in  three  Governments  of  Trans- 
caucasia, Elizavetpol,  Tiflis  and  Kars. 

Their  numbers  had  increased  to  twenty  thousand, 
and  while  they  had  great  difficulty  in  raising  grain 
of  any  kind  at  an  elevation  of  five  thousand  feet  on 
the  Wet  Mountains  of  Georgia,  they  devoted  them- 
selves so  successfully  to  breeding  cattle  as  to  become 
well-to-do  in  many  instances. 


146 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


The  leaders  of  this  sect  have  been  strong  charac- 
ters since  the  beginning  of  their  settlement  on  the 
Milky  Waters,  but  how  they  are  chosen  is  difficult  to 
ascertain.  Pobirohin,  Kapoustin,  Kalmykov,  his 
wife,  Loukerya  Vasilyevna  Kalmykova,  and  now 
Peter  Verigin,  have  successively  occupied  this  im- 
portant position  during  the  past  century.  These 
leaders  endeavored  to  govern  wdsely  "  under  the  im- 
mediate control  and  with  the  co-operation  of  the 
Deity  Himself,  by  means  of  inward  universal  inspi- 
ration and  revelation  from  above."  (Xovitsky.) 
So  that,  as  A.  Maude  says:  "  With  all  their  limita- 
tions and  deficiencies,  with  their  history  for  nearly 
a  century  before  us,  one  may  fairly  say  of  the  Douk- 
hobors  that  (except  in  times  of  external  persecution), 
without  any  government  founded  on  force,  they  have 
managed  their  affairs  better  than  their  neighbors 
have  done;  Avith  no  army  or  police,  they  have  suf- 
fered little  from  crimes  of  violence;  and  without 
priests  or  ministers,  they  have  had  more  practical  re- 
ligion, and  more  intelligible  guidance  for  their  spir- 
itual life.  Without  doctors  or  medicine  or  bacteriol- 
ogists (though  ignorant  even  of  the  first  principles  of 
ventilation),  they  have  been,  on  the  average, 
healthier  and  stronger  than  most  other  races.  With- 
out political  economists,  wealth  among  them  has 
been  better  distributed,  and  they  have  (apart  from 
the  effects  of  persecution)  suffered  far  less  from  ex- 
tremes of  wealth  and  poverty.  Without  lawyers  or 
written  laws,  they  have  settled  their  disputes.  With- 


THE  kece:nt  peesecutions. 


147 


out  books,  they  have  educated  their  children  to  be 
industrious,  useful,  peaceable  and  God-fearing  men 
and  women;  have  instructed  them  in  the  tenets  of 
their  religion,  and  taught  them  to  produce  the  food, 
clothing  and  shelter  needed  for  themselves  and  for 
others. 

"  As  a  community  they  are  to-day  abstainers  from 
alcohol,  non-smokers,  and  for  the  most  part,  vege- 
tarians. It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  class  of  peo- 
ple equally  numerous  among  whom  there  is  less  im- 
morality, or  among  whom  the  family  bond  is  more 
regarded.'' 

Communism,  which  the  Russian  peasants  gen- 
erally favor,  has  become  with  the  Doukhobors  a  re- 
ligious principle.  In  the  face  of  this  we  have  the 
same  individualistic  ambition  occasionally  asserting 
itself  which  has  rent  asunder  other  religious  sects  of 
similar  high  ideals.  We  would  gladly  pass  over  a 
division  of  this  character,  but  the  facts  remain.  A 
contention  arose  among  the  Doukhobors  about  the 
year  1886,  when  Peter  Verigin  was  banished  to 
Archangel.  He  had  been  trained  under  Loukerya 
Yasilyevna  Kalmykova  for  five  years,  with  the  ex- 
press intention  of  succeeding  her  as  chief  administra- 
tor and  "  Prophet ''  of  the  Doukhobors,  but  upon  the 
death  of  this  rather  remarkable  woman,  quite  a  fac- 
tion, known  as  the  "  Small  Party,"  insisted  upon  her 
brother  being  recognized  as  the  leader.  Recourse 
was  had  to  the  Russian  law — the  first  time  for  fifty 
years — and  several  of  the  "  Large  Party  ''  were  sent 


148 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


to  Northeast  Siberia.  This  was  finally  accomplished 
by  the  Small  Party's  bribing  the  Government  offi- 
cials with  a  gift  of  ten  thousand  roubles. 

A  long  and  detailed  account  of  these  events  (in- 
troduced to  the  reader  by  a  letter  from  Leo  Tolstoi) 
appeared  in  The  (London)  Times  for  Tenth  month 
23d,  1895.  It  was  written  by  a  friend  of  the  Douk- 
hobors  who  had  visited  the  Caucasus,  in  order  to  gain 
his  information  on  the  spot.  From  this  article  we 
give  extracts: 

Such  obvious  acts  of  injustice  (as  those  described 
above)  agitated  the  whole  community;  and  coming 
to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  no  justice  to  be  had 
from  Government,  the  Larger  Party  resolved  to  act 
independently. 

"  They  collected  a  new  fund  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand roubles,  making  all  the  private  property  of  the 
richer  members  equal  with  that  of  the  poorer,  and 
they  handed  over  the  management  of  this  fund  to 
Peter  Verigin,  about  whom  they  drew  more  closely 
than  before.^' 

A  widespread  religious  awakening  took  place 
among  them;  they  ceased  to  smoke,  drink  wine  and 
eat  flesh ;  they  practised  communism,  and  resolved  no 
longer  to  bear  arms,  even  in  self-defense.  In  their 
time  of  laxity  some  of  them  had  fallen  in  with  the 
practice  of  their  neighbors,  not  only  to  defend  them- 
selves from  brigands,  but  also  from  wdld  beasts. 
While  this  awakening  was  taking  place,  Peter  Veri- 
gin and  a  few  others  of  the  leading  men  were  ban- 


THE  RECENT  PERSECUTIONS. 


149 


ished  first  to  Archangel  and  then  to  Siberia,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  intrigues  of  the  Smaller  Party,  who 
accused  them  of  rebellion. 

During  his  transportation  from  Archangel  to  a  re- 
mote place  in  Siberia  in  the  winter  of  1894-5,  Veri- 
gin  was  "  visited  in  Moscow  by  some  of  his  spiritual 
brethren  from  the  Caucasus,  and  they  returned  home 
with  a  proposal  from  him,  which  was  accepted  by  the 
whole  Larger  Party,  to  abstain  from  oath-taking, 
from  military  duty,  and  from  every  participation  in 
the  violent  acts  of  the  Government,  and  to  destroy 
all  their  arms.  Prom  that  time  the  Doukhobortsi 
began  to  refuse  to  serve  in  the  army.  The  first  man 
who  refused  was  Matthew  Lebedeov,  who  served  in 
Elisavetpol  in  the  reserve  battalion.  For  special  ser- 
vice, honesty  and  intelligence,  he  had  been  made  a 
non-commissioned  officer.  Ten  of  his  brethren  were 
in  the  same  battalion,  and  together  they  agreed  to 
announce  their  refusal  to  bear  arms  by  absenting 
themselves  from  the  parade  on  the  first  day  of  Eas- 
ter. When  the  sergeant-major  discovered  the  cause 
of  their  absence,  ^'  he  fell  upon  Lebedeov,  threaten- 
ing and  insulting  him.''  Lebedeov  at  first  quietly 
told  him  the  facts,  and  then  "  took  out  his  gun  from 
the  pile  and  handed  it  over  to  the  sergeant-major. 
Then  the  latter  changed  his  manner,  began  to  beg 
pardon  for  his  abusive  language,  and  to  entreat  Le- 
bedeov to  alter  his  decision.  But  Lebedeov  remained 
inflexible.'' 

After  many  ineffectual  entreaties  from  fellow 


150 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  ErSSIA. 


officers,  "  the  commanding  officer  ordered  Lebedeov's 
arrest.  He  "was  escorted  to  a  dark,  underground  cell 
called  '  the  pit/  where  he  was  kept  in  strict  confine- 
ment, receiving  only  bread  and  water  in  very  small 
quantities.''  His  ten  companions  followed  his  exam- 
ple, and  were  imprisoned  separately,  that  they  might 
not  encourage  one  another;  but  communication  went 
on  continually  between  them  by  means  of  the  sol- 
diers, who  were  all  in  sympathy  with  the  prisoners. 
The  case  took  its  judicial  course.  They  were  tried  in 
Tiflis  Seventh  month  14th,  and  the  court  sentenced 
them  to  the  disciplinary  battalion — a  place  of  cruel 
torture — Lebedeov  for  three  years,  and  the  rest  for 
two.  Most  of  these  men,  as  well  as  many  others, 
are  now  in  Siberia. 

After  this,  case  after  case  began  to  occur  of  re- 
fusals of  Doukhobor  soldiers  to  serve.  A  few  sol- 
diers of  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church  followed  their 
example.  When  a  Doukhobor  refuses  to  serve,  he 
shortly  explains  his  reasons  for  so  doing. 

"  Q.  Why  do  you  not  wish  to  serve  the  Em- 
peror ? " 

"  A.  I  should  like  to  obey  his  will,  but  he  trains 
us  to  kill  men,  and  my  conscience  refuses  that." 
Q.  Why  does  it  refuse  ?  " 

A.  Because  the  Saviour  has  forbidden  us  to  kill 
men,  and  I  believe  Him,  and  follow  God's  will." 
"  Q.  What  are  you  ?  " 
"  A.  I  am  a  Christian." 

"  Q.  Why  do  you  call  yourself  a  Christian  ?  " 


THE  RECENT  PERSECUTIONS. 


151 


"  A.  Because  I  know  Christ's  teachings.  A  Chris- 
tian's living  spirit  will  not  and  cannot  do  such  deeds 
as  yours.''  "  From  this  point  the  authorities  are  un- 
able to  turn  to  us,"  added  the  Doukhobor  who  gave 
me  this  information. 

When  the  Governor  of  Tiflis  was  going  to  visit 
the  villages  of  the  Doukhobortsi,  the  chief  of  the  dis- 
trict ordered  thirteen  men  from  these  villages  to 
guard  the  road  from  brigands.  They  ought  to  have 
appeared  with  arms,  but  they  came  without  them. 
On  the  chief  of  the  district  questioning  them  as  to 
why  they  had  come  without  arms,  they  answered  that 
they  had  no  need  of  arms,  because,  in  case  of  meet- 
ing brigands,  they  were  not  going  to  shoot  or  to  beat 
them,  but  only  persuade  them.  And  at  the  same 
time  they  declared  that  they  refused  all  service  in 
the  government.  They  were  arrested  and  im- 
prisoned. 

Those  who  refused  to  take  out  militia  certificates 
were  also  imprisoned  and  afterwards  sent  to  Siberia. 

The  Doukhobors  continued  to  act  in  this  way  on 
various  other  occasions  of  collision  with  the  Govern- 
ment. But  all  this  was  only  a  beginning;  there  was 
as  yet  wanting  a  general  solemn  expression  of  their 
renunciation  of  violence.  This  expression  was  found 
in  the  resolution  to  burn  their  arms — such  arms  as 
almost  every  one  around  them  was  accustomed  to 
carry  and  keep  in  their  houses. 

The  night  between  Sixth  month  28  and  29,  1896, 
was  chosen  for  this  purpose,  the  eve  of  Peter  and 


152 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


PauPs  Day.  (The  Doukhobors  observe  the  feasts  of 
the  Greek  Church,  giving  to  them  a  symbolic  mean- 
ing.) This  burning  of  arms  took  place  simultane- 
ously in  the  province  of  Kars,  in  the  government  of 
Elisavetpol,  and  in  the  Akhalkalaki  district  of  the 
Tiflis  government. 

In  the  province  of  Kars  the  officials  found  out  the 
place  of  meeting,  and  many  arrests  were  the  result. 

In  the  government  of  Elisavetpol  the  burning  of 
arms  passed  off  without  trouble,  but  in  the  Akhalka- 
laki district  a  collision  with  the  officials  occurred,  the 
story  of  which  I  shall  relate  in  the  words  of  those 
who  took  part  in  it: 

"  We  resolved,"  said  an  old  Doukhobor,  "  to  serve 
no  longer,  and  not  to  obey  either  the  Tsar  or  any 
other  authority,  but  to  serve  God  only,  to  walk  in 
His  path,  and  to  do  good.  We  also  resolved  not  to 
do  hurt  or  use  violence  to  any  one ;  and,  above  all,  to 
refrain  from  killing,  not  only  men,  but  also  all  living 
creatures,  even  the  least  little  bird.  That  left  no 
need  for  us  to  keep  arms,  and  we  resolved  to  destroy 
them,  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  being  used  by  other 
men  for  evil  purposes.  We  chose  the  day  of  Peter 
and  Paul,  and  made  an  annoimcement  in  all  our  vil- 
lages. We  left  only  knives,  but  every  weapon  made 
to  kill  men  we  collected  and  brought  together  to  a 
place  previously  arranged.  This  place  was  long  ago 
chosen  by  us  for  our  great  prayer  meetings,  and  is 
called  ^  The  Cave.'  It  is  really  an  excavation  in  the 
rock.    The  place  is  about  three  versts  from*the  vii- 


THE  RECENT  PERSECUTIONS. 


153 


lage  of  Orlovka,  and  a  little  further  from  our  other 
villages.  We  met  at  this  place,  made  a  pile  of  all  the 
arms,  covered  it  with  wood  and  coal,  poured  kerosene 
over  all  these,  and  set  the  whole  on  fire.  There  were 
present  about  two  thousand  people. 

"  We  were  anxious  lest  the  authorities  should  pre- 
vent our  action,  and,  therefore,  we  did  not  tell  every 
one  about  our  intention ;  in  fact,  we  met  with  no  hin- 
drance. The  inhabitants  of  other  neighboring  vil- 
lages, Armenians,  came.  They  saw  how  we  burnt 
the  arms,  but  nobody  revealed  the  night's  business; 
and  in  the  morning  the  pile  was  burnt  out,  and  we 
began  to  pray,  and  to  sing,  and  to  read  psalms.  After 
the  prayer  we  returned  each  to  his  home,  and  awaited 
what  punishment  might  be  prepared  for  us  by  the 
Government.  But  the  day  passed  quietly.  In  the 
evening  we  went  again  to  the  same  place,  and  began 
to  bum  over  again  what  had  escaped  the  fire,  to  pre- 
vent anybody  from  using  it.  We  brought  some  more 
coal  and  bellows  to  blow  up  the  flames,  in  order  to 
melt  the  metallic  parts  into  one.  That  night  passed 
quietly  also.  At  the  dawn  of  day  we  again  began  to 
pray.  The  people  assembled  in  greater  numbers. 
There  were  women  and  children.  The  inhabitants  of 
different  villages  came  in  vans. 

"  As  I  said  before,  we  kept  secret  our  intention  to 
burn  the  arms,  being  afraid  we  should  be  hindered; 
but  our  neighbors,  the  Doukhobortsi  who  were  in 
disagreement  with  us,  had  a  suspicion  that  we  were 
doing  something  with  our  arms,    j^ot  knowing  ac- 


154 


THE  EXODUS  FEOM  RUSSIA. 


curatelj  what,  however,  and  hearing  that  we  were 
collecting  arms,  thej  decided  that  we  were  going  to 
rob  the  Orphan  House,  about  which  our  quarrel  with 
them  arose.  As  we  expected  that  the  authorities 
would  drive  us  awav,  or  exile  us  for  refusing  to  serve 
the  Government,  some  of  us  made  preparations  for 
traveling.  All  these  preparations  were  taken  by  our 
enemies  as  preparations  for  a  rising  or  a  robbery. 
They  were  so  afraid  of  an  attack  that  they  denounced 
us  to  the  authorities.  There  were  stationed  at  this 
time  in  the  village  of  Gorelovka,  inhabited  by  the 
Doukhobors  of  the  Small  Party,  two  battalions  of  in- 
fantry and  two  hundred  Cossacks. 

"  Thus  the  soldiery  were  already  here,  and  the 
Governor  came  to  the  place  of  the  supposed  rising. 
.  .  .  A  messenger  came  to  us,  ordering  us  all  to  go 
to  the  village  of  Bogdanovka.  The  old  men  an- 
swered, '  We  are  at  present  praying,  and  till  we  have 
finished  we  shall  go  now^here;  if  the  Governor  wants 
to  see  us  let  him  come  to  us:  we  are  thousands,  and 
he  is  one.'  The  messenger  w^ent  away,  and  we  con- 
tinued to  pray  and  sing  psalms,  intending  after 
prayer  to  go  to  the  Governor  and  learn  what  he 
wanted  with  us. 

"  The  prayers  were  not  yet  finished  when  our  men 
who  were  stationed  as  watchers  informed  us  that 
Cossacks  were  to  be  seen.  We  closed  together  and 
waited  for  them.  In  front  of  them  rode  the  com- 
manding officer,  who,  as  soon  as  he  approached  us, 
shouted,  ^  Hurrah !  '  and  with  all  his  hundred  men 


THE  EECEXT  PERSECUTIONS. 


155 


made  a  rush  upon  us.  The  Cossacks  began  to  beat  us 
without  restraint,  and  to  ride  us  down.  The  men 
who  stood  in  front  were  the  most  badly  beaten,  and 
those  who  were  in  the  middle  of  the  crowd  were  al- 
most suffocated  bv  the  pressure.  .  .  .  Some  of  the 
Cossacks  were  ashamed  to  strike.  .  .  . 

"  At  last  thev  discontinued  the  beating,  and  we, 
bruised  and  covered  with  blood,  gathered  in  a  crowd 
and  went  to  the  Governor.  The  women  walked  with 
us,  but  the  Cossacks  began  to  cut  them  off  from  us, 
crying  that  there  was  no  need  of  women.  But  the 
latter  said  they  would  follow  their  spiritual  brethren 
everywhere.  The  officer  ordered  them  to  be  beaten 
with  the  whips,  but  they  cried  that  though  they 
should  be  cut  in  pieces  they  would  still  go;  and  they 
went,  the  Cossacks  withdrawing  from  them. 

"  After  marching  a  little  we  stopped,  remember- 
ing that  we  had  left  our  carts  behind  us,  and  there 
was  nobody  to  look  after  them.  Then  the  Cossacks 
began  to  beat  us,  ordering  the  women  to  go  for  the 
carts,  but  the  women  refused;  then  we  were  allowed 
to  send  from  our  number  one  man  for  each  cart  to 
drive  the  horses,  and  we  continued  our  route  to  Bog- 
danovka,  where  we  were  to  meet  the  Governor. 

"  As  we  continued  to  walk,  we  began  to  sing  a 
psalm,  but  the  officers  stopped  our  singing,  and  or- 
dered the  Cossacks  to  sing  obscene  songs,  such  as  we 
were  ashamed  to  listen  to." 

The  interview  with  the  Governor  resulted  in  an- 
other beating,  and  then  after  a  list  of  their  families 


156 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


had  been  made  out  they  were  allowed  to  return 
home.    The  account  in  The  Times  continues: 

"  After  this  began  the  so-called  ^  execution/  i.e., 
the  quartering  of  the  Cossacks  upon  the  villages  of 
the  Doukhobors.  This  measure  is  applied  as  a  pun- 
ishment in  various  kinds  of  risings  of  the  people. 
The  soldiers  thus  quartered  are  given  the  right  to 
use  the  property  of  the  inhabitants,  and  to  behave 
in  their  houses  just  as  in  a  conquered  country.  The 
cruelty  of  this  punishment  depends  on  how  far  the 
authorities  allow  the  soldiers  to  go.  One  certainly 
could  not  expect  a  light  ^  execution  '  from  that  offi- 
cer who  had  previously  cruelly  beaten  quite  innocent 
men.    And  so  it  proved  to  be." 

"  Two  hundred  Cossacks,"  said  the  Doukhobor, 
"  were  quartered  in  our  villages,  in  each  of  which 
they  stopped  three  days.  They  made  camps  in  the 
streets,  and  took  from  our  houses  anything  they 
liked;  and  if  displeased,  they  beat  us  with  the  lash. 
They  demanded  that  we  should  show  them  respect, 
and  if  we  did  not  salute  them  they  beat  us.  They 
ate  all  our  poultry,  of  which  we  had  plenty.  We 
were  not  allowed  to  go  outside  our  village,  so  that 
we  knew  nothing  of  what  was  going  on  in  other 
places,  but  we  heard  that  in  Bogdanovka,  where  the 
Cossacks  had  behaved  most  outrageously,  many  vio- 
lations of  women  had  occurred,  which  acts  the  au- 
thorities approved. 

"  In  Orlovka  the  Cossacks  entered  a  house  where 
a  woman,  Marya  Cherkenovka,  sat  at  work,  sewing. 


THE  EECENT  PEESECTJTIONS. 


157 


They  asked  her,  '  Where  is  the  raaster  ? '  She  an- 
swered, ^  I  do  not  know.'  '  How  is  it  you  do  not 
know  ? '  ^  I  should  not  know  even  if  you  had  not 
come.'  And  she  continued  to  sit  and  work.  Then 
she  was  dragged  outside  and  beaten  with  the  lash. 
In  the  same  village,  an  old  man  of  sixty,  Kiril  Kon- 
kin,  was  beaten  with  the  lash  so  cruelly  that  he  died 
on  the  road  after  being  exiled.  .  .  .  [Many  more 
such  accounts  are  on  record]. 

After  the  ^  execution,'  they  began  to  expel  the 
Doukhobors  from  their  villages,  first  by  five  families 
from  every  village,  then  by  ten,  and  in  a  few  days 
the  remaining  part  were  sent  after  the  others.  After 
the  order  to  clear  them  out  was  given,  three  days 
were  allowed  them  to  make  arrangements  to  pack 
and  to  sell  their  whole  property.  The  things  sold  for 
a  trifle.  What  cost  fifty  dollars  was  sold  for  five ; 
what  there  was  no  time  to  sell  was  thrown  away,  and 
the  whole  population  was  absolutely  ruined.  The 
cattle  were  left  abroad  and  the  corn  in  the  fields. 

"  Altogether  there  were  expelled  from  the  Akhal- 
kalaki  district  four  hundred  and  sixty-four  families. 
These  were  scattered  over  four  districts  in  the  Gov- 
ernments of  Tiflis,  Dushet,  Jori,  Trouet  and  Si- 
guakh,  among  the  villages  with  Georgian  population, 
as  if  with  the  purpose  of  starving  them  out.  They 
were  settled  by  two,  three  or  five  families  in  a  vil- 
lage, without  grant  of  land,  and  prohibited  from  any 
communication  among  themselves.  They  gradually 
sold  all  their  belongings,  and  became  laborers  to  the 


158 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  EUSSIA. 


Georgians;  but,  in  spite  of  their  complete  ruin,  those 
who  can  do  so  continue  to  help  others  who  are  poorer 
than  themselves/' 

While  the  Doukhobors  were  thus  being  scat- 
tered among  strangers,  many  of  whom  were  deeply 
touched  by  their  patient  sufferings,  we  have  accounts 
of  many  heart-rending  scenes.  Their  chief  men,  both 
old  and  young,  were  seized  and  transported  to  the 
most  remote  districts  of  the  Empire,  and  the  grief 
which  is  still  so  pathetically  expressed  by  the  be- 
reaved families,  is  strong  evidence  of  their  domestic 
:fidelity  and  affection. 

By  the  above  letter  to  The  (London)  Times,  and 
by  accounts  of  their  terrible  sufferings  published  by 
friends  of  Tolstoi  in  Russia,  the  case  of  the  Spirit- 
Wrestlers  became  known  to  a  considerable  circle  of 
readers,  both  in  England  and  Russia,  and  many  in- 
quiries were  made  concerning  them. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  the  general  reader  to  no- 
tice the  spirit  in  which  these  faithful  followers  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace  define  their  situation  and  principles 
when  in  prison  and  exile  for  conscience'  sake.  A 
letter  from  the  Doukhobors,  in  Elisavetpol  prison, 
dated  Sixth  month  8th,  1896,  reads  thus; 

Dear  Friend  and  Brother  in  Jesus  Christ : 

"  We  inform  thee  that,  according  to  the  mercy  and 
grace  of  our  God  and  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  are  all 
in  peace  and  welfare.    We  heartily  greet  thee  and 


THE  KECEKT  PERSECUTIONS. 


159 


thy  brethren,  and  wish  you  welfare  in  your  lives. 
May  God  sustain  thee,  dear  brother. 

"  Though  we  are  strictly  watched  in  order  that  we 
may  not  be  in  communication  with  you  and  the  other 
brethren,  yet  we  cannot  be  silent. 

^'  When  we  turned  away  from  the  ways  of  the 
world,  when  we  began  to  fulfil  the  law  of  God,  the 
commandments  of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  our  con- 
science, then  we  became  hated,  slandered,  and  put 
into  prison,  on  the  pretext  that  we  do  not  accept  the 
power  of  the  Emperor. 

"  Are  we  not  all  children  of  the  same  Father  ?  A 
true  Christian  cannot  make  war  and  shed  the  blood 
of  his  brother,  but,  on  the  contrary,  he  loves  him 
more  than  himself.  For  this  our  brethren  are  dis- 
persed in  painful  and  distant  exile,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  spreading  of  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and 
of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  . 

"  Let  us  ask  God  to  give  us  patience  in  meekness 
to  endure  these  persecutions,  calumnies,  insults, 
blows,  humiliations,  sufferings  and  illnesses,  for  this 
will  obtain  the  love  of  God. 

"  Dear  friend,  they  know  not  what  they  do.  They 
think  that  by  such  unreasonable,  self-willed,  unmer- 
ciful tortures  they  please  God.  Forgive  iis,  Lord! 
us  sinners  and  our  persecutors!  Turn  them  away, 
Lord,  from  the  ways  of  iniquity,  and  teach  them  the 
way  of  truth !  May  the  Lord  God  hear  the  groans, 
wailing  and  cries,  the  voice  of  prayer  of  His  ser- 


160 


THE  EXODUS  FBOM  RUSSIA. 


vants;  may  He  liberate  from  servitude  His  people, 
and  save  them  from  the  nets  thrown  over  them !  " 

A  similar  letter  was  sent  bj  them  in  response  to  a 
greeting  from  some  members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends. 

After  a  time  sufficient  interest  was  evoked  in  Eng- 
land and  in  Kussia  for  a  considerable  collection  to  be 
made  for  these  people,  many  of  whom  were  dying 
from  hardships  and  starvation.  This,  along  with  let- 
ters and  messages,  was  conveyed  to  them  personally 
in  the  winter  of  1897-^98,  by  an  English  and  a  Rus- 
sian sympathizer.  The  latter  thus  describes  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Doukhobors,  which  occurred  just  as  they 
arrived  at  a  Donkhobor  village : 

"  All  those  who  had  come  over  for  the  meeting 
assembled  in  one  hut;  altogether  there  were  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  persons.  It  was  so  crowded 
that  all  had  to  stand.  The  door  was  open,  and  the 
passage  also  was  crowded.  St.  John  and  myself  and 
a  friend  from  Tiflis  were  seated  around  the  table, 
i^ot withstanding  the  crowd  there  reigned  complete 
silence.  Altogether  I  must  say  that  not  in  any  cul- 
tivated society,  or  any  circle  of  either  young  or  old 
people,  have  I  ever  met  with  such  good  behaviour  at 
large  gatherings,  with  such  tact  and  tolerance  during 
debate,  as  I  noticed  among  these  people.  One  at  a 
time  speaks  calmly,  not  hurrying,  knowing  before- 
hand that  nobody  will  interfere  until  he  has  finished 
what  he  has  to  say.  If  it  happens  that  several  per- 
sons begin  to  talk  at  once,  precedence  is  given,  with- 


THE  RECENT  PERSECUTIONS. 


161 


out  unnecessary  persuasion  or  displeasure,  to  one  of 
them.  When  anyone  leaves  off  speaking,  the  next 
one,  before  beginning,  generally  asks:  ^  Well, 
Yanya,  have  you  finished  ? '  There  is  in  all  this 
much  respect  for  the  personality  of  one  another,  and 
much  love.  From  this  results  an  order  such  as  it  is 
impossible  to  keep  in  an  ordinary  company  by  any 
number  of  chairman's  bells. 

"  First  of  all,  I  gave  them  the  greetings  of  all 
their  friends,  Russians  as  well  as  foreigners, — also 
from  Leo  Tolstoi.  I  told  them  I  had  to  hand  over 
some  money  and  some  letters.  The  letters  I  pro- 
posed to  read  aloud.  In  a  few  words  I  related  where 
and  how  the  money  had  been  collected;  then  it  was 
counted  and  handed  over.  One  of  the  Doukhobors 
then  said  that  all  who  were  present  wished  to  ex- 
press their  thanks  in  their  own  way,  and  the  whole 
crowd  began  to  move,  and  made  a  low — a  very  low 
— bow.  A  general  sigh,  stifled  with  emotion,  was 
uttered,  and  one  could  hear  sobbing.  Seeing  before 
me  the  backs  and  heads  of  the  bowing  people, — peo- 
ple whom  I  respect  so  highly,  and  who  have  suffered 
so  much  for  the  truth, — expressing  this  murmur  of 
gratitude,  and  seeing  also  their  deeply-moved  faces, 
I  was  touched  to  the  soul. 

"  After  this,  I  read  the  letter  from  Y.  Tchertkov 
[containing  messages  from  English  sympathizers] ; 
it  made  a  deep  impression.  All  the  time  one  could 
hear  sighs,  and  words  of  gratitude : — ^  Save  them,  O 
Lord ! ' — ^  Grant  them  eternal  life ! ' — ^  Help  them 


162 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  EUSSIA. 


on  their  righteous  path !  ' — and  so  forth.  After  the 
reading  was  over  one  of  them  said, '  We  thanked  you 
for  the  charity  you  bestowed  upon  us  for  the  body, 
and  although  it  is  very  dear  to  us,  this  charity,  being 
spiritual,  which  nourishes  the  soul,  is  much  dearer 
to  us;  how  are  we  to  thank  you  for  it? '  And  again 
all  made  a  low  bow,  and  again,  like  a  wave,  arose  a 
murmur  of  gratitude  and  love." 

The  same  writer  further  describes  how  he  found 
these  people: 

"  When  I  was  about  to  visit  them  last  year,  I  ex- 
pected to  see  either  fanatics,  or  a  people  particularly 
inclined  to  mysticism.  I  expected  that  they  would 
be  sad  and  dejected,  and  that  it  must  be  more  agree- 
able to  hear  about  them  than  to  live  among  them. 
I  know,  too,  that  the  majority  of  those  who  have 
heard  of  the  Doukhobors,  and  sympathize  with  them, 
have  the  same  notion. 

"  In  reality  it  turned  out  to  be  quite  different. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  last  year  (as  in  this)  they 
were  in  extremely  bad  circumstances,  suffering  from 
fevers,  eye  diseases,  etc.,  their  food  so  insufficient 
that  it  was  a  wonder  how  their  large,  strong  bodies 
could  be  sustained,  in  spite  of  the  great  mortality, 
and  the  unnaturalness  of  their  life  of  idleness,  owing 
to  scarcity  of  work,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  al- 
most every  family  had  some  of  its  members  exiled 
or  languishing  in  prisons  and  penal  battalions,*  I  no- 

* "  In  these  battalions,  according  to  the  regulations,  the 
prisoners  were  expected  every  day  to  comply  with  the  de- 


THE  KECENT  PERSECUTIONS. 


163 


ticed  among  them,  from  the  first  day,  and  the  first 
words,  such  vitality  and  animation,  such  abundance 
of  hearty  energy,  and  such  soberness,  as  I  had  pre- 
viously had  no  idea  of  whilst  living  among  people 
who  cannot  decide  as  to  the  life  they  want  to  lead, 
whether  for  God  or  Mammon,  and  who  consequently 
are  wearied  out,  suffering  and  discontented. 

"  Contrary  to  my  expectations,  I  saw  that  they 
do  not  subject  themselves  to  any  oppressive  princi- 
ples which  limit  the  freedom  of  their  individuality. 
Each  one,  when  considering  any  question,  is  guided 
by  his  own  spiritual  understanding.  That  is  why 
they  are  so  energetic,  joyful  and  free.  And  all  their 
actions,  which  to  us  seem  extraordinary,  are  to  them 
quite  usual.  This  results  from  the  fact  that  their 
conduct  is  looked  upon  by  them  only  as  the  outward 
manifestation  of  continued  inward,  spiritual  force. 
And  out  of  this  conception  arises  the  fact  that  there 
is  no  need  for  people  to  carry  out  this  act  or  that, 
prompted  by  any  other  motive  than  the  impossibility 
to  act  otherwise. 

"  Therefore  there  are  no  vain  actions,  as  nobody 
will  praise  them;  there  are  no  actions  from  fear  of 

mands  of  military  discipline.  As  the  Doukhobors  could  not 
conscientiously  do  this,  they  were  subject  to  an  incessant 
series  of  punishments, — flogging,  confinement  in  a  cold,  dark 
cell,  diet  of  bread  and  water,  prolongation  of  sentence,  and 
so  on.  But  in  the  autumn  of  1896  an  order  was  issued  from 
the  government  that  those  who  refused  military  service  on 
religious  grounds  were  not  to  be  imprisoned  in  military 
places  of  detention." — "  Christian  Martyrdom  in  Russia,"  page 
61. 


164 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


censure  on  the  part  of  the  brethren,  as  no  one  will 
blame  them;  there  are  no  actions  out  of  blind  sub- 
mission to  the  majority,  as  no  one  either  expects  or 
demands  anything  from  another.  Moreover,  if  there 
be  any  one  whose  inner  consciousness  does  not 
strongly  exhort  him  to  live  this  life,  he  always  has 
the  possibility  of  joining  the  Small  Party. 

In  my  presence  the  news  came  that  one  of  the 
Doukhobors,  who  w^as  kept  in  a  penal  battalion,  not 
having  strength  to  bear  the  tortures,  consented  to 
serve.  All  who  were  present  in  the  hut  had  only  just 
heard  about  it,  and  I  was  able  to  observe  their  imme- 
diate attitude  towards  this  matter.  Xearly  all  of 
them  spoke  with  sorrow  about  him  and  pitied  him: 
'  Dear  lad,  he  had  to  bear  much  pain;  and  now  it  will 
be  still  harder  for  him,  poor  fellow.'  All  spoke  of 
him  with  such  affection,  such  grief;  they  feared  that 
he  would  find  it  still  harder  to  live  after  his  consent 
to  serve  in  the  army.  They  spoke  of  his  youthful- 
ness,  of  the  sensitiveness  of  his  nature,  and  of  his  se- 
vere sufferings. 

"  The  feeling  is  just  as  tolerant  and  tender  when 
it  happens  that  one  of  the  exiled  goes  over  to  the 
Small  Party,  not  having  strength  to  bear  the  hard- 
ships of  persecution.  Generally  he  comes,  bows  to 
all,  and  asks  forgiveness  for  leaving  them.  On  their 
part,  those  who  remain  give  him  their  best  wishes: 
^  May  God  grant  you  to  live  there  as  well  as  possible. 
One  can  serve  God  everwhere.'  They  ask  forgive- 
ness for  not  having  been  able  to  make  his  life  among 


THE  EECENT  PERSECUTIONS. 


165 


them  more  easy.  They  give  him  two  horses,  a  van, 
and  food  for  his  journey. 

"  Their  relations  to  their  neighbors  who  have 
never  shared  their  faith  is  equally  kind.  Soon  after 
the  settlement  of  the  Doukhobors  in  the  government 
of  Tiflis,  a  Georgian  in  one  of  the  villages  fell  ill.  It 
happened  to  be  in  autumn,  and  the  com  gathered  in 
by  him  was  not  yet  removed,  but  was  lying  in 
sheaves  in  the  yard.  As  the  rain  was  pouring  down 
the  corn  would  have  spoiled.  The  Doukhobors  came 
to  know  of  this,  went  to  his  place,  threshed  the  corn, 
put  it  in  its  place,  and  went  away,  almost  without 
seeing  the  owner. 

"  In  another  village  one  of  the  Doukhobors  once 
heard,  during  the  night,  some  noise  going  on  near 
the  horses.  He  went  out  to  see  what  was  the  mat- 
ter, and  saw  that  a  Georgian  had  led  his  horse  out, 
and  was  mounting  on  it,  and  was  about  to  gallop 
away.  The  Doukhobor  began  to  shout :  '  Stop ! 
stop ! '  so  persistently  that  the  Georgian — though  he 
was  already  some  distance  away — stood  still.  The 
Doukhobor  said:  ^  I  only  wanted  to  tell  you  that  you 
need  not  be  afraid,  and  that  you  should  not  consider 
this  horse  as  a  stolen  one;  if  you  want  it,  take  it/ 
The  Georgian  stood  still  for  awhile,  reflected,  came 
back  and  returned  the  horse." 

The  same  writer  had  some  discussion  with  them  on 
the  use  or  disuse  of  ceremonies,  pointing  out  to  them 
that  those  of  the  Small  Party  go  through  the  same 
ceremonies,  but  that  this  fact  has  not  prevented 


166 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  EUSSIA. 


them  from  declining  in  the  spirit.  He  asked  them 
whether  such  a  view  of  ceremonies  as  he  had  ex- 
pressed separated  him  from  them  or  not  ?  Thej  all, 
without  exception,  replied  that  as  soon  as  we  ac- 
knowledge the  command  to  love  God  and  our  neigh- 
bor, nothing  could  ever  disunite  us.  Some  of  the 
younger  ones  showed  a  tendency  to  apologize  for 
their  ceremonies;  the  older  ones  thought  that  their 
sympathizers,  if  they  lived  among  them,  would  prob- 
ably by  and  by  understand  them,  and  join  with  them 
in  their  form  of  worship. 

The  English  visitor,  A.  St.  John,  spent  some  time 
moving  about  among  the  sufferers,  and  after  this  he 
went  to  Cyprus  for  the  purpose  of  discovering 
whether  that  island  would  be  a  suitable  home  for 
the  Doukhobors  in  case  they  should  be  allowed  to 
emigrate.  He  remained  there  long  enough  to  re- 
ceive the  first  party  of  emigrants,  to  help  them  in 
their  difficulties  in  that  unsuitable  climate,  and 
finally  to  accompany  them  to  Canada, — as  will  be 
more  fully  related  further  on. 

The  exiled  leader,  Peter  Verigin,  was  kept  in- 
formed as  far  as  possible  of  what  was  happening  to 
his  brethren.  The  following  letter,  written  from  his 
place  of  exile,  was  on  two  occasions  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Court  ladies  who  have  near  access  to  the 
Empress,  but  it  is  not  known  whether  it  ever  reached 
the  Empress  Alexandra  or  not: 

"  May  the  Lord  God  preserve  thy  soul  in  this  life, 
as  well  as  in  the  future  age.  Sister  Alexandra. 


THE  EECENT  PERSECUTIONS. 


167 


"  I,  a  servant  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  am  living 
in  the  testimony  and  glad  tidings  of  His  truth.  I  am 
in  exile  since  the  year  1886,  from  the  ^  Spirit- Wres- 
tlers '  [Doukhobor]  Community  of  Transcaucasia. 
The  word  ^  Spirit- Wrestler '  should  be  understood 
thus:  that  we  in  the  spirit  and  with  our  soul  profess 
God  (see,  in  the  Gospel,  the  meeting  of  Christ  with 
the  Samaritan  woman  at  the  well). 

"  I  implore  thee,  sister  in  Christ  the  Lord,  Alex- 
andra, pray  thy  husband  Nicholas  to  spare  the  Spirit- 
Wrestlers  in  the  Caucasus  from  persecution.  It  is 
to  thee  that  I  address  myself,  because  I  think  thy 
heart  is  more  turned  towards  the  Lord  God.  And 
there  are  at  this  moment  more  women  and  children 
suffering:  husbands  and  parents  are  confined  in 
prisons,  and  families  are  dispersed  in  the  native  vil- 
lages, where  the  authorities  incite  the  population  to 
behave  coarsely  with  them.  This  falls  especially 
heavily  upon  the  Christian  women !  Lately  they 
have  been  putting  women  and  children  into  prisons. 

"  The  fault  on  our  part  is  that  we,  as  far  as  it  is 
possible  to  us,  endeavor  to  become  Christians.  In 
regard  to  some  of  our  actions,  their  understandings 
may  not  be  sufficiently  enlightened. 

Thou  art  probably  acquainted  with  the  teaching 
of  vegetarianism;  we  are  sharers  in  these  humani- 
tarian views.  Lately  we  have  ceased  to  use  flesh  as 
food,*  and  to  drink  wine,  and  have  forsaken  much  of 


*"The  Doukhobors  were  vegetarians  at  least  as  far  back 
as  the  beginning  of  last  century,  but  towards  the  middle  of 


168 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


that  which  leads  to  a  dissipated  life,  and  darkens  the 
light  of  the  human  soul.  Refusing  to  kill  animals, 
we  in  no  case  regard  it  as  possible  to  deprive  men  of 
life.  If  we  were  to  kill  an  ordinary  man,  or  even  a 
robber,  it  would  seem  to  us  that  we  had  decided  to 
kill  Christ. 

^'  The  State  demands  that  our  brethren  should 
learn  the  use  of  the  gun,  in  order  to  know  well  how 
to  kill.  The  Christians  do  not  agree  to  this;  they 
are  put  into  prisons,  beaten  and  starved;  the  sisters 
and  mothers  are  coarsely  defiled  as  women,  very 
often  with  railing  exclamations,  ^  Where  is  your 
God  ? '  '  Why  does  He  not  help  you  ? '  (Our  God 
is  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  fulfils  all  His  will.) 

"  This  is  sad,  especially  because  it  is  all  taking 
place  in  a  Christian  country.  But  our  community 
in  the  Caucasus  consists  of  about  twenty  thousand 
men.*  Is  it  possible  that  such  a  small  number  could 
injure  the  organism  of  the  State,  if  soldiers  were  not 
recruited  from  among  them?  At  the  present  mo- 
ment they  are  recruited,  but  uselessly.  Thirty  men 
are  in  the  Ekaterinograd  penal  battalion,  where  the 
authorities  are  only  tormenting  themselves  by  tor- 
turing them. 

Man  we  regard  as  the  temple  of  the  living  God, 


the  century  they  had  relaxed  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in 
regard  to  their  other  principles." — "  Christian  iMartyrdom/' 
page  102, 

*  This  is  a  large  estimate,  and  included  the  "  Small  Party," 
who  had  betrayed  their  principles. 


THE  RECENT  PERSECUTIONS. 


169 


and  we  can  in  no  case  prepare  ourselves  to  kill  him, 
though  for  this  we  were  to  be  threatened  by  death. 

"  The  most  convenient  manner  of  dealing  with  us 
would  be  to  establish  us  in  one  place  where  we  might 
live  and  labor  in  peace.  All  State  obligations  in  the 
form  of  taxes  we  would  pay,  only  we  cannot  be  sol- 
diers. 

If  the  Government  were  to  find  it  impossible  to 
consent  to  this,  then  let  it  give  us  the  right  of  emi- 
gration into  one  of  the  foreign  countries.  We  would 
willingly  go  to  England  or  (which  is  most  conve- 
nient) to  America,  where  we  have  a  great  number  of 
brothers  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  From  the  fulness  of  my  soul,  I  pray  the  Lord  for 
the  welfare  of  thy  family. 

"  The  servant  of  Christ,  Peter, 
"(living  in  exile  in  the  Government  of  Tobolsk.)" 

Another  epistle,  showing  his  Christ-like  spirit,  was 
addressed  by  the  same  writer  to  his  suffering  breth- 
ren, under  date  of  First  month  2d,  1896: 

"  The  concern  of  most  importance  to  me,  when 
thinking  of  my  fellows,  is  that  they  might  as  far  as 
possible  try  to  become  humble  and  meek,  which  is  in- 
dispensable for  entering  the  kingdom  of  God. 

"  I  think  that  when  they  have  begun  to  be  wor- 
ried, and  their  material  state  to  be  ruined,  they  must 
be  very  careful  not  to  be  tempted.  I  hold  that 
anxiety  of  material  well-being  constitutes  already  a 


170 


THE  EXODUS  FKOM  RUSSIA. 


great  stumbling-block  and  injury  to  the  soul.  I  ask 
that  you  will  advise  all  who  know  me  not  to  be  an- 
gry, not  to  grumble  at  the  Government  because  it  op- 
presses them.  But  let  them  bear,  with  God's  help, 
any  trial  which  befalls  them.  Let  them  only  remem- 
ber what  Christ,  and  afterwards  the  Apostles,  had  to 
suffer  for  the  Truth.  It  is  important  to  bear,  without 
complaint,  scorn  for  the  Truth,  but  it  is  still  more  im- 
portant, when  suffering  for  Truth's  sake,  to  bear  that 
patiently. 

"  Petee  Veeigin." 


CHAPTEK  n. 


THE  EMIGRATION. 

In  Third  month,  1898,  news  was  received  in  Eng- 
land by  V.  Tchertkov  that  permission  had  been 
granted  to  the  Doukhobors  to  emigrate.  The  im- 
mediate cause  of  this  permission  was  a  visit  from  the 
Dowager  Empress  to  her  son  in  the  Caucasus.  During 
this  visit  the  Doukhobors  succeeded  in  presenting  to 
her  a  petition,  asking  permission  to  be  settled  all  to- 
gether in  some  remote  place,  or  to  be  allowed  to  emi- 
grate. The  Empress  handed  over  this  petition  to 
the  superior  authorities,  and  the  leave  to  emigrate 
was  granted. 

This  welcome  news  resulted  in  great  activity 
among  the  friends  of  the  Doukhobors  in  England.  A 
committee  of  the  Society  of  Friends  co-operated  with 
V.  Tchertkov  and  his  coadjutors  in  raising  a  fund  for 
their  help,  in  making  arrangements  for  the  emigra- 
tion, and  in  selecting  a  suitable  place  for  a  new  settle- 
ment. They  were  in  constant  communication  with 
Leo  Tolstoi  and  other  sympathizers  in  Russia. 

After  a  long  time  of  negotiation  and  inquiry,  two 
pioneer  families  of  Doukhobors  went  to  England,  as 
delegates,  for  conference  with  their  friends.  The 
two  Doukhobor  men  left  their  families  behind  them 
in  Essex  while  they  went  with  Prince  Hilkov  to 
Cyprus.  Their  report  was  not  favorable,  but  it  came 
too  late  to  stop  the  first  emigration  to  that  island.  In 


172 


THE  EXODUS  FKOM  RUSSIA. 


the  meantime  there  had  been  active  preparations 
going  on  in  the  Caucasus,  and  a  ship  was  chartered 
and  ready  to  leave  Batoum.  The  experience 
was  very  unusual,  and  the  whole  situation  most  diffi- 
cult to  deal  with.  America  had  been  thought  of,  but 
the  idea  of  removing  so  many  settlers  to  that  great 
distance  seemed  at  first  an  impossible  dream.  The 
cost,  to  say  nothing  of  other  obstacles,  was  more  than 
could  be  faced.  Where  else,  then,  should  they  go? 
ISTo  other  land  seemed  to  welcome  them,  and  the 
urgency  to  get  away  quickly  from  Kussia  was  very 
great.  The  Cyprus  venture  was  made,  as  w^e  know 
now,  with  disastrous  results. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Doukhobor  pioneers  returned 
to  England,  all  eager  for  America,  the  land  of  their 
desire.  Autumn  was  at  hand,  and  they  wished  to 
view  the  land  before  the  crops  were  all  gathered. 
Correspondence  with  people  likely  to  be  interested, 
both  in  the  States  and  in  Canada,  had  been  going  for- 
ward from  the  center  of  operations  in  England,  and 
the  best  judgment  favored  Western  Canada  as  the 
most  likely  place  for  a  settlement.  It  had  also  been 
discovered  that  between  the  different  communities 
of  Doukhobors  (those  of  Kars  and  other  districts  be- 
ing better  off  than  the  banished  ones)  there  were 
funds  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  ocean  voyage,  if  help 
were  given  for  railway  transit  and  the  expense  of 
settlement.  So  possibilities  for  this  great  exodus  be- 
gan to  appear. 

Aylmer  Maude,  a  man  well  fitted  for  his  work. 


THE  EMIGRATIOX. 


173 


agreed  to  undertake  negotiations  with  the  Canadian 
government.  He  and  Prince  Hilkov  accompanied 
the  first  two  Doiikhobor  families  to  Canada.  Prince 
D.  A.  Hilkov  is  a  man  of  striking  personality,  and 
has  had  a  very  interesting  life  history.  "  He  is  a 
nephew  of  the  present  Russian  Minister  of  Railways, 
and  was  an  officer  in  the  Russian  army  at  the  time  of 
the  Turkish  war  in  1878,  serving  in  the  Caucasus, 
and  during  his  military  life  there  met  many  of  the 
Doukhobors  then  living  in  that  hill  country.  One 
day  he  killed  a  Turk  in  battle,  and  captured  his 
horse;  but  another  horse,  an  extremely  fine  animal, 
escaped  him  after  a  long  chase.  The  Prince  re- 
turned to  camp  much  discontented  and  dissatisfied, 
thinking  at  first  that  the  failure  to  get  the  horse  was 
at  the  bottom  of  his  disquietude.  It  gradually 
dawned  upon  him,  however,  that  his  unrest  came 
from  having  killed  a  man.  The  more  he  thought 
upon  it,  the  more  he  realized  the  bad  use  to  which  he 
was  devoting  his  strength  and  energy,  killing  people 
whom  he  did  not  dislike,  and  whom  he  had  never  met 
before,  and  he  determined  to  leave  the  Russian 
army.  This  he  could  not  do  at  once,  but  he  abstained 
from  the  further  taking  of  human  life,  though  often 
in  positions  of  great  personal  danger. 

"  At  a  later  period  Prince  Hilkov  left  the  mili- 
tary service,  and  settled  on  his  mother's  estate  in 
Southern  Russia.  There  he  occupied  himself  with 
agriculture,  and  came  into  closer  touch  with  the 
peasantry.    He  saw  how  miserable  they  were  and 


174 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


how  hard  their  life  was,  in  consequence  of  heavy 
taxation  and  enforced  military  service.  Moreover, 
the  quantity  of  land  allotted  to  them  at  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  serfs  was  insufficient  for  their  needs. 
Ultimately  the  Prince  came  into  possession  of  his 
mother's  estate,  and  immediately  divided  it  up  among 
his  peasants,  he  himself  living  by  his  own  toil,  and 
dwelling  on  a  small  section  of  land  which  had  been 
allotted  to  him  by  the  peasants  themselves.  By  this 
act  Prince  Hilkov  acquired  great  influence  among 
the  peasants,  and  was  consulted  by  them  in  all  their 
troubles,  more  particularly  with  regard  to  the  extor- 
tions of  the  priests  of  the  Russian  Church  for  per- 
forming the  burial  and  marriage  services.  The 
Prince  finally  advised  the  peasants  to  do  as  the 
Stundists  and  other  Protestant  sects  in  Russia  were 
doing, — to  get  along  without  the  priests  altogether; 
— advice  which  was  at  once  adopted.  This  proceed- 
ing caused  a  serious  shrinkage  in  the  church  income, 
and  he  was  denounced  by  the  priest  as  the  founder 
of  a  new  sect.'' 

The  free  bestowal  of  his  patrimony  upon  the  peas- 
ants of  his  estate  brought  down  upon  the  Prince  the 
wrath  of  Alexander  III.,  and  that  of  his  court.  "  He 
was  remonstrated  with  to  no  purpose,  so  firm  a  hold 
had  the  altruistic  impulse  taken  on  him.  The  late 
Czar  sent  for  him,  and  informed  him  that  his  estate 
was  the  pesthouse  of  the  Empire;  exhorted  him  to 
return  to  the  faith  and  customs  of  his  ancestors,  and 
warned  him  that  persistence  in  his  doctrine  would 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


175 


lead  to  serious  trouble.  The  prophecy  proved  true, 
as  the  predictions  of  those  who  have  the  power  to 
verify  them  are  apt  to  do.  Shortly  afterwards,  while 
the  Prince  was  living  quietly  at  home  on  his  estate, 
officers,  commissioned  by  the  Czar,  entered  it  with 
the  cruel  news  that  they  had  come  to  take  his  chil- 
dren from  him.  His  eldest  son  was  snatched 
from  the  frantic  mother's  embrace,  and  his  little 
daughter  borne  away  by  the  rude  Cossacks.  .  .  . 

"  The  broken-hearted  father  had  resolution  enough 
to  demand  an  explanation  from  the  Czar.  His  Im- 
perial Majesty  condescended  to  assign  as  a  reason, 
that  no  Prince  of  the  Kussian  Empire  should  ever  be 
brought  up  in  the  pernicious  faith  espoused  by 
Prince  Hilkov,  if  he  could  prevent  it.  The  decree 
proved  absolute.  .  .  . 

"  Prince  Hilkov's  two  children  were  handed  over 
to  his  mother,  at  her  request,  to  be  brought  up  in 
the  Orthodox  faith.  The  Prince  was  banished  to  the 
Caucasus,  where  he  lived  among  the  Doukhobors. 
A  few  years  later  the  Russian  Government  banished 
the  leaders  and  prominent  men  of  the  Doukhobors  to 
Siberia.  The  Prince  was  then  sent  to  the  Baltic 
provinces,  and  placed  among  the  Lettish-speaking 
people.  There  he  lived  for  two  years,  after  which 
he  received  permission  to  leave  Russia  altogether." 
Subsequently  he  was  very  useful  both  as  a  negotiator 
and  an  interpreter  in  helping  the  Doukhobors  to  set- 
tle in  Canada. 

In  different  parts  of  America,  helpers  were  raised 


176 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


up  who  rendered  valuable  assistance.  The  Society  of 
Friends  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  other 
places,  formed  committees  for  the  raising  of  funds, 
and  for  the  collecting  and  spreading  of  information, 
and  they  have  given  practical  brotherly  aid  in  many 
ways  during  and  since  the  emigration. 

The  government  and  railway  officials  in  Canada 
proved  sympathetic,  and  did  all  they  could  to  help 
forward  the  preparations.  Count  Tolstoi,  with  his 
usual  clearness  and  energy,  stated  the  situation  at 
this  critical  juncture  in  the  following  appeal,  which 
was  widely  circulated: 

"  I  happen  to  know  the  details  of  the  persecutions 
and  sufferings  of  these  people;  I  am  in  communica- 
tion with  them,  and  they  ask  me  to  help  them. 
Therefore  I  consider  it  my  duty  to  address  myself 
to  all  good  people,  whether  Russian  or  not  Russian, 
asking  them  to  help  the  Doukhobortsi  out  of  the  ter- 
rible position  in  which  they  now  are.  I  have  at- 
tempted to  address  myself,  through  the  medium  of  a 
Russian  newspaper,  to  the  Russian  public,  but  do  not 
know  yet  whether  my  appeal  will  be  published  or 
not;  and  I  now  address  myself  once  more  to  all  sym- 
pathizers, asking  for  their  assistance,  (1)  in  the  form 
of  money,  of  which  much  will  be  needed  for  the  re- 
moval of  ten  thousand  ^  people  to  a  distant  place ; 
and  (2),  in  the  form  of  advice  and  guidance  in  the 

*  Two  thousand  of  these  died  before  the  emigration  was 
effected.  Count  Tolstoi  contributed  $17,000  for  the  relief  of 
the  Doukhobors  by  the  sale  of  some  of  his  publications. 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


177 


difficulties  of  the  coming  emigration  of  people  who 
do  not  understand  any  foreign  language,  and  have 
never  been  out  of  Russia  before. 

I  trust  that  the  leading  authorities  of  the  Rus- 
sian government  will  not  prevent  such  assistance 
being  rendered,  and  that  they  will  check  the  exces- 
sive zeal  of  the  Caucasian  administration,  which  is, 
at  the  present  moment,  not  admitting  any  communi- 
cation whatever  with  the  Doukhobortsi. 

In  the  meantime,  I  offer  to  act  as  intermediary 
to  all  those  who  are  anxious  to  help  the  Doukho- 
bortsi, and  who  wish  to  enter  into  communication 
with  them,  for  until  the  present  my  communications 
with  them  have  not  been  interrupted.  My  address  is 
Moscow,  Hamovnichesky,  Pereoulok,  21. 

"  Communications  upon  this  subject  may,  for 
greater  safety,  be  sent  to  me  through  the  medium  of 
my  friend,  Vladimir  Tchertkov,  now  living  in  Eng- 
land, who  will  be  glad  to  furnish  further  details,  and 
the  latest  information  on  the  subject,  in  answer  to 
any  inquiries  addressed  to  him  at  Purleigh,  Essex. 

"  Leo  Tolstoi. 

April  1st,  1898." 

English  Friends  then  came  to  the  rescue  with  the 
following  appeal,  which  also  had  a  wide  circulation: 

"  Appeal  feom  the  Society  or  Friexds. 

"  Minute  of  London  Yearly  Meeting  of  the  Society 
of  Friends: 


178 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  EUSSIA. 


"  23d  of  Fifth  month,  1898. 
"  A  report  has  been  received  from  the  Meeting 
for  Sufferings  in  regard  to  the  Doukhobortsi.  This 
Meeting  approves  the  action  which  has  been  taken  bv 
its  Representative  Meeting;  and  in  strong  and  near 
sympathy  with  this  suffering  people  we  adopt  the 
draft  address  which  accompanies  the  Report,  and  we 
commend  its  circulation  and  the  whole  subject  to 
the  continued  care  and  attention  of  the  Meeting  for 
Sufferings.  We  trust  that  our  members  generally 
may  be  able  to  raise  funds  to  assist  the  speedy  emi- 
gration from  Russia  of  the  Doukhobortsi. 

"  Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Meeting, 

"  Caleb  R.  Ke^mp,  Clerk. 
"  Devonshire  House,  12  Bishopsgate  Without, 
London,  E.  C." 

"  Address. 

"  To  Members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  to 
those  who  unite  with  them  in  believing  war  to 
be  incompatible  with  the  teaching  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
"  Dear  Friends: — We  desire  to  lay  before  you  the 
case  of  the  people  who  are  known  in  Russia  as  the 
Doukhobortsi  (a  word  signifying  those  who  strive  in 
the  Spirit),  who  are  at  present  under  suffering  in 
that  country  for  their  refusal  to  bear  arms. 

They  were  originally  drawn  together  in  the  last 
century  by  the  conviction  that  it  is  unlawful  for 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


179 


Christians  to  shed  the  blood  of  their  fellow  men;  and 
in  acting  on  this  conviction  they  came  in  conflict,  on 
several  occasions,  with  the  law  by  which  the  con- 
scription is  enforced  in  Russia,  until  in  the  time  of 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  I.  they  were  exiled  from  the 
Crimea,  where  they  had  been  settled,  to  the  western 
Transcaucasus. 

"  Gradually,  however,  they  had  declined  from  the 
measure  of  light  and  knowledge  experienced  by  their 
predecessors,  until  they  ceased  to  maintain  their  tes- 
timony against  war,  although  they  continued  in  the 
course  of  industry  and  probity  which  had  made  them 
outwardly  prosperous. 

"  This  was  their  general  condition  until  some  three 
years  ago,  when,  through  the  instrumentality  of  one 
of  their  own  number,  their  community  was  aroused 
from  its  lethargy  with  the  solemn  message,  ^  Remem- 
ber from  whence  thou  art  fallen,  and  repent,  and  do 
the  first  works.'  In  the  awakening  which  followed 
they  were  constrained  again  faithfully  to  witness  to 
the  truth  committed  to  them.  Humbly,  but  firmly, 
they  refused  any  longer  to  perform  military  service, 
and  thus  exposed  themselves  to  severe  suffering  at 
the  hands  of  the  authorities  appointed  to  enforce  it. 
Floggings,  imprisonment,  fines,  exile  of  some  to  Si- 
beria, and  driving  of  others  from  their  homes  and 
farms  into  districts  where  they  were  left  without 
food  or  shelter,  followed  in  rapid  succession,  until 
many  hundreds  died  of  want,  or  of  sickness  resulting 
from  their  privations. 


180 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


"  Their  condition  being  at  length  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Empress-Mother,  and  of  the  Czar 
himself,  by  petitions  entreating  leave  for  them  to 
emigrate  from  Russia,  the  Emperor,  honorably  dis- 
criminating between  the  disobedience  to  the  law  by 
evil  doers,  and  a  disobedience  arising  from  conscien- 
tious endeavor  to  do  right,  granted  this  request,  sub- 
ject to  some  limitations. 

As  the  Society  of  Friends  have,  as  a  body,  al- 
ways maintained  the  incompatibility  of  war  with  that 
teaching  of  Christ  which  enjoins  us  to  love  even  our 
enemies,  we  have  felt  deeply  for  the  Doukhobortsi 
in  the  heavy  trials  through  which  they  have  been 
passing,  for  their  witness  to  the  same  truth.  We  are 
humbled  in  the  remembrance  that  the  religious  and 
civil  freedom  we  ourselves  enjoy  has  been  gained 
through  heavy  suffering  by  those  who  have  gone  be- 
fore us.  Other  men  have  labored,  and  we  have  en- 
tered into  their  labors;  and  we  feel  that  the  trials  so 
patiently  endured  by  these  poor  Russian  peasants 
should  not  only  recall  to  us  the  need  of  holding  fast 
to  our  testimony  to  the  truth  so  dear  to  them,  but 
that  their  condition  should  awaken  our  active  sym- 
pathy on  their  behalf. 

"  Gratefully  recognizing,  therefore,  as  we  do,  the 
desire  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia  to  spare  the  Douk- 
hobortsi from  further  suffering,  in  permitting  them 
to  emigrate,  we  feel  we  ought  to  give  effect  to  it,  as 
far  as  lies  in  our  power,  by  contributing  towards  the 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


181 


cost  of  such  emigration,  as  these  poor  people  them- 
selves are  without  the  means  of  defraying  it. 

"  We  also  desire  to  bring  the  circumstances  to  the 
notice  of  Friends  everywhere,  as  well  as  to  all  others 
who  hold  the  same  conscientious  conviction  of  the 
unlawfulness  of  war  to  the  followers  of  Christ,  as 
we  believe  they  will  gladly  evince  their  sympathy  for 
the  Doukhobortsi  by  uniting  in  rendering  them  the 
monetary  aid  of  which  they  are  now  in  need. 

"  Signed,  for  the  Committee  of  the  Meeting  for 
Sufferings,* 

"  John  Bellows. 

"  Subscriptions  may  be  sent  to  Isaac  Sharp,  12 
Bishopsgate  Without,  London,  E.  C.  The  Funds 
will  be  administered  under  the  care  of  the  Society  of 
Friends." 

In  the  iN'inth  month,  1898,  the  arrangements  were 
completed  for  bringing  the  colonists  to  Canada.  One 
of  the  conditions  which  favored  this  settlement  was 
an  exemption  clause  in  the  Dominion  Militia  Act, 
section  21  of  which  reads  as  follows:  "  Every  per- 
son bearing  a  certificate  from  the  Society  of  Quakers, 
Mennonites  or  Tunkers,  and  every  inhabitant  of  Can- 
ada of  any  religious  denomination,  otherwise  subject 
to  military  duty,  who  from  the  doctrines  of  his  re- 

*  The  "  Meeting  for  Sufferings  "  is  the  Standing  Committee 
of  the  Society,  and  was  so  named  from  its  having  been  orig- 
inally appointed  to  aid  members  who  were  in  prison,  etc.,  etc., 
for  conscience'  sake. 


182 


THE  EXODUS  FKOM  EUSSIA. 


ligion  is  averse  to  bearing  arms  and  refuses  personal 
military  service,  shall  be  exempt  from  such  service 
when  balloted  in  time  of  peace  or  war,  upon  such 
conditions  and  under  such  regulations  as  the  Gov- 
ernor in  Council  from  time  to  time  prescribes/' 

From  Quebec,  where  the  prospecting  party  arrived 
on  the  10th  of  Ninth  month,  Aylmer  Maude  wrote  to 
V.  Tchertkov  in  England  that  Prof.  Mavor  of  To- 
ronto had  succeeded  in  interesting  a  number  of  gov- 
ernment officials  in  the  proposed  exodus,  and  that 
the  professor  did  not  doubt  the  Doukhobortsi  would 
be  treated  fairly  upon  their  arrival,  but  that  no 
money  would  be  raised  to  bring  them  over  the  sea. 
He  said:  The  case  seems  to  be  that  Canada  is  as 
free  as  any  country  in  the  world." 

The  interview  with  the  Deputy  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior was  very  satisfactory.  The  agreement  on  the 
part  of  the  Dominion  government,  dated  Tenth 
month  5th,  1898,  reads  thus:  (1)  Those  responsible 
for  the  organization  of  the  emigration  to  receive  the 
usual  bonus  of  five  dollars  per  adult,  children  count- 
ing half.  (2)  A  further  grant  of  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  for  each  man,  woman  and  child  settled,  towards 
organization  and  transportation  expenses.  (3)  The 
use  of  the  Immigration  Halls  in  Manitoba  and  the 
Northwest  Territory  granted  during  the  winter 
months." 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Kailway  Company  also 
showed  a  generous  spirit,  and  allowed  its  alternate 
holdings  of  land  in  the  Northwest  Territory  to  be  so 


THE  EMIGRATIO:;. 


183 


exchanged  as  to  aid  the  Doukhobortsi  in  getting  their 
sections  of  land  together. 

At  this  juncture  a  cable  message  was  sent  to 
Tchertkov:  ^'  Let  exiles  come.  Land  ready.  Arrange- 
ments progressing  favorably.^'  This  was  a  most  criti- 
cal moment  in  the  Exodus;  the  waters  were  parting, 
but  how  to  insure  the  passage  of  the  entire  commun- 
ity was  a  problem  still  to  be  solyed.  The  English 
Friends  had  done  nobly,  and  under  urgent  circum- 
stances had  raised  a  guarantee  fund  of  $80,000,  de- 
manded by  their  goyernment  in  the  island  of  Cyprus 
before  the  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  Doukhobors  first  embarking  from  Batoum  were 
allowed  to  land  there,  on  the  first  of  Xinth  month, 
1898.  This  was  graphically  set  forth  in  The  British 
Friend  of  Xinth  month  of  that  year:  While  the 
Committee  [of  the  Meeting  for  Sufferings]  were  dili- 
gently and  carefully  inyestigating  the  facilities  which 
Cyprus  afforded,  they  were  suddenly  startled  and  al- 
most appalled  by  the  information  that  three  thou- 
sand fiye  hundred  of  those  who  were  in  the  greatest 
peril  had  resolyed,  without  waiting  for  further  ad- 
yice  and  assistance  from  the  Committee,  to  flee  for 
their  liyes,  and  were  already  in  moyement  for  Ba- 
toum, their  port  of  embarkation.  Fifteen  hundred 
acres  of  land  haying  been  offered  them  in  Cyprus, 
under  conditions  which  appeared  equitable,  the  Com- 
mittee at  once  concluded  to  accept  the  offer,  as  at 
least  supplying  a  spot  on  which  their  weary  limbs  and 
heads  might  rest,  and  their  sinking  hearts  possibly 


184 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


find  courage.  Already  one  thousand  one  hundred 
men,  women  and  children  had  made  their  way  to  Ba- 
toum,  and  were  chartering  a  vessel  to  carry  them  to 
a  ^  promised  land/  when  the  committee  was  sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly  confronted  with  the  diffi- 
culty of  furnishing  the  large  financial  guarantee 
(ultimately  fixed  at  £15  per  head)  demanded  by  the 
British  government  before  the  refugees  would  be  al- 
lowed to  land  in  the  island. 

How  liberally  the  Friends,  touched  by  the  su- 
preme necessity  of  the  movement,  responded  to 
the  call,  and  how,  within  a  few  days — one  might  al- 
most say  within  a  few  hours — the  whole  of  the  large 
guarantee  of  £16,500  was  raised,  has  been  touch- 
ingly  told  by  the  pen  of  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Committee  (John  Bellows),  in  a  current  issue  of  The 
(London)  Friend:  "  Thus  the  way  seemed  cleared  at 
last,  and  under  a  feeling  of  chastened  relief  and 
thankfulness  the  Committee  breathed  more  freely. 
Meanwhile  behind  these  one  thousand  one  hundred 
stand  the  two  thousand  four  hundred  at  Tiflis,  who 
have  sold  the  remnant  of  their  belongings,  and  who 
telegraph  that  they  have  obtained  their  passports, 
and  are  ready  to  start.  What  is  to  become  of  them  ? 
Divine  Providence  only  knows ! 

"  The  Committee's  powers  are  exhausted,  their 
means  at  an  end,  and  they  can  only  bid  the  exiles 
'  Wait ! '  Behind  these  also  are  four  thousand  more, 
now  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kars,  less  impoverished 
by  cruel  persecution,  but  equally  anxious  to  flee  to  a 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


185 


place  of  safety.  What  is  to  become  of  them  ?  Prob- 
ably since  the  persecution  and  slaughter  of  the 
Huguenots,  two  centuries  ago,  there  has  been  no  in- 
stance of  such  cruel,  such  relentless,  persecution,  as 
that  directed  against  this  harmless  and  industrious 
community.  As  France  in  that  day  drove  out  tens 
of  thousands  of  the  best  of  her  sons  and  daughters, 
so  does  the  Russian  government  of  to-day  cast  off  and 
trample  under  foot  thousands  of  its  worthiest  peas- 
ant subjects.  Whilst  the  former  were  victims  of  re- 
lentless and  triumphant  priestcraft,  the  latter  are  de- 
voured by  insatiable  militarism.  In  conclusion,  the 
Committee  earnestly  solicits  the  continued  sympathy 
and  support  of  all  members  of  the  Society.'' 

This  appeal,  written  by  Edmund  W.  Brooks,  and 
supplemented  by  that  of  another  English  Friend,  to 
Friends  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  were  not  made  in  vain. 
Wilson  Sturge  had  already  gone  from  England  to 
help  settle  the  first  shipload  of  exiles  in  Cyprus,  and 
Friends  of  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting  appointed  a 
Committee  to  solicit  subscriptions,  and  in  every  way 
to  assist  those  coming  to  America. 

Prof.  J ames  Mavor,  of  the  University  of  Toronto, 
wrote  under  date  of  Tenth  month  24th,  1898:  "  The 
Doukhobors,  to  the  number  of  at  least  two  thousand 
two  hundred,  will  sail  in  about  a  week  from  the  port 
of  Batoum  direct  to  Quebec  [Halifax].  The  Cana- 
dian government  has  agreed  to  give  them  a  free 
grant  of  land  suitable  and  sufficient  for  the  settle- 


186 


THE  EXODUS  FEOM  RUSSIA. 


ment  of  seven  thousand  five  hundred  Doukhobors. 
Of  these  four  thousand  have  resources  to  bring  them 
out  and  to  establish  them  in  the  very  minimum  of 
comfort,  with  the  aid  the  government  gives. 

"  There  are  two  thousand  two  hundred  who  need 
practically  everything,  the  persecutions  having  re- 
sulted in  their  complete  impoverishment.  The  cir- 
cumstance that  in  a  few  months  a  number  of  their 
young  men  will  fall  to  be  drawn  for  military  service, 
and  the  fear  that  the  permission  granted  by  the  Czar 
to  leave  the  country  may  be  withdrawn,  coupled  with 
the  dread  of  a  return  to  active  persecution,  are  the 
chief  impulses  which  impel  them  to  seek  another 
country  at  all  hazards  of  suffering  from  inadequate 
shelter  in  an  inclement  winter. 

"  The  Doukhobors  are  communists  in  the  sense 
that  they  have  community  of  property  within  the 
group,  comprising  one  hundred  and  fifty  families. 
Some  of  the  groups  have  larger  accumulations  than 
others,  but  they  are  all  willing  to  help  each  other. 
Had  this  not  been  the  case,  the  emigration  of  so  large 
a  number  at  this  time  of  year  would  have  been  alto- 
gether impracticable.  They  seem,  moreover,  willing 
to  encounter  anything,  rather  than  spend  another 
winter  in  Russia." 

There  is  an  incident  in  connection  with  their  de- 
parture from  their  Caucasian  homes  which  is  very 
characteristic  of  their  consideration  for  others,  not 
only  for  their  brethren,  but  even  for  their  oppres- 
sors.   Prince  Hilkov  says :  "  When  they  abandoned 


THE  EMIGKATION. 


187 


their  cottages  and  huts,  scattered  throughout  the 
Georgian  villages,  these  were  left  in  a  neat  and  tidy 
condition,  and  in  each  were  arranged  a  table,  two 
chairs,  two  loaves  of  bread,  and  a  jug  of  water,  so 
that  any  one  who  might  come  to  them  hungry  would 
not  go  away  unsatisfied." 

The  same  writer  says:  "  Drunkenness  (a  besetting 
Russian  sin)  and  idleness  are  practically  unknown 
among  them,  and  they  are  always  neat  and  tidy. 
They  have  no  organization,  no  written  regulations, 
no  provisions  for  punishment.  Instead  of  the  latter, 
they  merely  remind  one  another,  in  a  brotherly  way, 
of  their  faults." 

"  They  are  possessed  of  an  infinite  patience  under 
suffering  and  sorrow,  and  are  essentially  simple- 
hearted.  They  have,  further,  great  vital  energy,  and 
quiet  persistence  of  purpose,  which  are  dominant 
traits  of  the  Slavonic  race." 

Friends  of  Philadelphia  now  took  up  the  emigra- 
tion of  the  Doukhobors  in  good  earnest.  Several 
printed  appeals  were  widely  circulated,  and  near 
$30,000  was  contributed  toward  their  settlement  in 
the  ^^Torthwest  Territory. 

The  second  ship,  with  some  two  thousand  of  these 
Russian  refugees,  sailed  from  Batoum  about  the  mid- 
dle of  Twelfth  month,  1898.  Before  leaving  Rus- 
sia, the  Doukhobors  had  to  sign  an  agreement  never 
to  return  within  the  borders  of  the  Empire,  or,  in 
such  event,  to  submit  to  Siberian  exile. 

While  they  were  being  driven  away  to  the  village 


188 


IHE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


of  Bogdanovka  to  present  themselves  before  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Tiflis,  before  leaving  forever  their  native 
land,  the  J  sang: 

"For  the  sake  of  Thee,  Lord, 
I  loved  the  narrow  gate; 
I  left  the  material  life; 
I  left  father  and  mother, 
I  left  brother  and  sister; 
I  left  my  whole  race  and  tribe; 
I  bear  hardness  and  persecution; 
I  bear  scorn  and  slander; 
I  am  hungry  and  thirsty; 
I  am  walking  naked, 
For  the  sake  of  Thee,  Lord." 

This  embarkation,  and  that  of  the  previous  one 
thousand  one  hundred  who  went  to  Cyprus,  were 
effected  by  using  the  emigration  fund  of  $23,000 
which  the  Doukhobors  had  raised  among  themselves 
during  the  past  three  years,  for  just  such  an  emer- 
gency, in  conjunction  with  money  contributed  by  Leo 
Tolstoi  and  others. 

While  these  two  thousand  exiles  were  en  route  for 
Canada,  Joseph  S.  Elkinton,  a  minister  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  felt  a  religious 
concern  to  meet  them  on  their  arrival,  which  he  did 
in  company  with  Job  S.  Gidley,  a  fellow-minister,  of 
IsTorth  Dartmouth,  Mass.  The  landing  was  an  event 
long  to  be  remembered  by  those  who  witnessed  it. 

As  the  Lake  Huron,  with  its  two  thousand  and 
seventy-three  pilgrims,  drew  near  the  land  of  their 
adoption,  they  beheld  a  very  different  scene  from 
that  which  they  had  left,  some  four  weeks  before,  in 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


189 


the  Black  Sea;  and  the  welcome  now  awaiting  them 
must  have  contrasted  strangely  with  the  treatment 
thej  had  grown  so  familiar  with  at  the  hands  of  the 
Russian  officials.  The  Canadian  authorities  almost 
vied  with  each  other,  during  the  suspense  of  a  week's 
waiting,  in  making  preparations  for  the  comfort  of 
these  worthy  colonists. 

A  Halifax  paper  (issued  First  month  20th,  1899) 
thus  announced  the  safe  arrival  of  this  pioneer  con- 
tingent: "  Safe  into  port  at  3  o'clock  this  afternoon 
came  the  steamship  Lake  Huron,  Captain  Evans, 
with  her  company  of  over  two  thousand  Doukho- 
bortsi, — the  largest  number  of  immigrants  who  ever 
crossed  the  Atlantic  at  one  time,  to  an  American 
port.  For  many  days  Deputy  Minister  Smart  had 
been  anxiously  awaiting  the  coming  of  this  curious 
people,  who  are  turning  their  faces  to  the  free  and 
fertile  lands  of  this  Canadian  domain;  and  when  the 
Beaver  Line  flag  was  hoisted  at  the  Citadel  at  1.30 
this  afternoon  there  was  rejoicing  on  all  hands. 
From  December  22d  the  Lake  Huron  has  been  bat- 
tling with  the  gales  which  played  high  pranks  with 
craft  on  the  Western  Ocean.'' 

The  same  authority  voices  the  impression  made 
upon  all  who  welcomed  these  sturdy  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  toil :  "  The  Doukhobors  are  people  of  the  pur- 
est Russian  type,  large  and  strong,  men  and  women 
both  being  of  magnificent  physique.  They  are  charac- 
terized by  broad,  square  shoulders,  heavy  limbs,  and 
a  massive  build  generally.  Their  features  are  promi- 


190 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


nent,  but  refined,  and  bear  the  marks  of  a  life  that  is 
free  from  vice  of  any  kind.  The  most  striking  char- 
acteristic of  all  is  the  bright,  kindly  sparkle  of  their 
eyes,  which  gives  a  winning  expression  to  the  whole 
face,  and  quickly  wins  confidence  in  their  character. 
All  their  habits  demonstrate  that  they  are  possessed 
of  keen  minds." 

The  Montreal  WeeMy  Witness  of  First  month 
17th,  1898,  said:  "  They  are  a  simple,  kindly  folk;  a 
people  of  integrity  and  pure  morals.  .  .  .  Clean  and 
well-kept  villages  have  always  marked  their  habita- 
tions. Even  in  the  Wet  Mountains  of  the  Caucasus 
they  speedily  earned  the  respect  and  good-will  of 
their  neighbors,  the  wild  hillsmen.  Prince  Kropot- 
kin,  a  keen  observer,  says  that  in  the  deserts  of  the 
Amoor  region  and  that  of  Elizavetpol,  in  Georgia, 
the  good  qualities  of  this  afflicted  people  have  always 
secured  friends  for  them." 

The  steamer  was  thronged  from  stem  to  stem  by 
these  at  last  happy  exiles,  and  in  most  picturesque 
groups  could  be  seen  the  children,  with  their  bright 
faces  and  dresses  of  various  colors.  As  the  tug-boat 
from  the  shore  approached  within  speaking  distance, 
Job  S.  Gidley  shouted,  Welcome,  Doukhobors !  " 
and  almost  immediately  the  whole  company  on  deck 
burst  forth  in  singing  one  of  their  low,  melodious 
Russian  h^Tuns,  which,  rendered  into  its  English 
equivalent  by  Prince  Hilkov,  reads: 


HON.  JAS.  A.  SMART. 

Deputy   Minister  of   the  Interior. 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


191 


"Know  all  meiij  God  is  with  us.   He  has  carried  us  through. 
We  lift  up  our  voices,  and  sing  His  praises. 
Let  all  people  hear  and  join  in  our  praises  of  the  Almighty. 
They  that  planned  our  ruin  did  not  succeed. 
We  never  feared  them,  for  God  was  with  us  and  gave  us 
strength. 

Our  Lord  had  strength  to  save  us;  why  should  we  fear? 
They  that  put  their  trust  in  Him  are  never  forsaken. 
They  that  do  not  know  Him  now  shall  know  Him  hereafter. 
The  light  shines  in  the  darkness  and  will  dispel  it." 

When  this  very  touching  expression  of  sincere 
thanksgiving  was  ended,  Prince  Hilkov,  Deputy 
Minister  Smart,  and  the  two  Friends,  went  on  board 
the  Lalce  Huron,  and  a  most  affecting  scene  followed. 
The  joy  on  the  part  of  those  who  knew  the  Prince 
was  manifested  by  their  thronging  about  and  kissing 
him  impetuously,  until  Joseph  S.  Elkinton  knelt  in 
prayer,  when  every  head  was  uncovered,  and  a  pro- 
found solemnity  prevailed  for  a  few  minutes,  in  rec- 
ognition of  the  many  mercies  which  had  been  so  con- 
spicuously experienced  by  the  exiles.  The  opportun- 
ity was  brief,  as  the  ship  had  not  been  "  cleared  " 
according  to  the  quarantine  regulations.  The  vis- 
itors soon  retired,  bidding  the  newcomers  a  "  fare- 
well    as  sincere  as  their  welcome  had  been. 

The  (Halifax)  Morning  Chronicle  of  that  date 
said:  "  It  was  indeed  a  picturesque  sight.  There  was 
not  a  ripple  on  the  water,  the  sun  was  shining  bright- 
ly, and,  as  the  two  thousand  strangers  crowded  the 
decks,  the  steamer  presented  the  appearance  of  a 
huge  excursion  boat.  The  immigrants  were  well 
clad;  that  is,  warmly  clad.   The  men  and  boys  wore 


192 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


goatskin  coats  and  caps,  while  the  women  wore  skirts 
of  bright  red  or  blue,  heavy  black  jackets,  and  col- 
ored shawls  as  headdress." 

J.  T.  Bulmer  was  appointed  by  a  committee  of 
"workingmen  to  address  the  immigrants,  and  he  told 
them,  before  leaving  the  vessel  (Prince  Hilkov  in- 
terpreting) that  Canada  welcomed  them  as  "  men 
who  would  stand  by  their  principles,  no  matter  how 
much  suffering  it  cost  them,''  adding,  Peace  will 
have  her  victories,  and  the  same  gentle  force  which 
caused  you  to  throw  down  your  guns  in  Europe  or 
Asia  will  dismantle  even  the  forts  of  Halifax.  .  .  . 
On  behalf  of  the  workingmen  of  Canada  I  welcome 
you  to  Canada,  and  bid  you  Godspeed." 

Captain  Evans  gave  the  Doukhobors  whom  he 
brought  to  America  the  highest  praise  for  order, 
cleanliness  and  industry,  they  having  helped  in  the 
management  of  the  vessel  of  their  own  accord.  There 
were  ten  deaths  on  the  voyage, — three  very  old  per- 
sons, and  seven  very  young  children;  also  one  birth 
and  six  marriages. 

The  strangers  went  to  St.  John  in  order  to  take 
the  cars  for  Manitoba.  Some  impressive  scenes  were 
re-enacted  as  they  landed.  Just  as  the  steamship 
was  being  made  fast  to  the  pier  at  St.  John,  Alman- 
ofsky,  who  was  one  of  their  countrymen,  addressed 
those  on  board  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  Canada. 
He  told  them  that  the  people  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  truly  welcomed  them,  and  would  be  as  broth- 
ers and  sisters  to  them,  and  he  hoped  that  they  would 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


193 


prove  worthy  of  their  adopted  home.  The  Doukho- 
bors  were  greatly  pleased,  listening  to  him  most  re- 
spectfully; and,  when  he  concluded,  they  all  knelt 
down  on  the  deck  of  the  vessel  and  bowed  low  their 
heads,  giving  thanks  also  vocally.  The  crowds  on 
shore  then  cheered  several  times,  to  which  the  Rus- 
sians responded  by  a  low  bow  and  taking  off  their 
caps. 

Two  old  men  were  noticed  by  a  reporter  of  the 
Montreal  Daily  Star  to  be  deeply  touched  by  this 
expression  of  good-will.  He  says:  "  I  saw  the  large 
tears  gather  in  their  eyes  and  course  down  over  their 
rugged  countenances,  furrowed  with  heavy  lines,  of 
the  kind  which  bespoke  little  experience  with  human 
kindness.  Quietly  they  uncovered  their  heads  and 
bowed  their  gray  hairs  in  solemn  silence,  to  show 
they  recognized  the  spirit  of  God  working  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  had  so  kindly  welcomed  them. 
So  their  religion  taught  them.'' 

The  women  of  St.  John,  and  other  cities  of  the 
Dominion,  had  made  considerable  provision  for  the 
comfort  of  the  immigrants  while  en  route  for  their 
Western  homes.  Five  or  six  trains,  of  eight  or  ten 
coaches  each,  were  in  readiness,  with  ample  supplies 
for  the  journey, — greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  Can- 
adian Pacific  Railway.  An  eye-witness  says :  "  It 
was  a  pleasure  to  see  the  well-trained  children,  even 
from  the  tot  of  two  years  to  the  child  of  nine  or  ten, 
take  off  the  cap  and  bow  politely  on  receipt  of  the 
present  of  eatables  to  each  child  as  it  disembarked, 


194 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  BUSSIA. 


supplied  by  the  Women's  Council/'  A  valuable  testi- 
mony is  also  given  by  the  captain  concerning  these 
on  shipboard:  They  were  ever  on  the  alert  for  op- 
portunities to  be  of  assistance  to  their  elders,  and 
were  frequently  observed  in  the  steamer  giving  up 
warm  positions  to  the  older  people.  .  .  .  Xo  people, 
whether  older  or  younger,  could  show  greater  con- 
sideration for  others  than  did  these  Spirit-Wrestlers 
on  the  way  out.  The  larger  and  stronger  men  re- 
fused to  allow  the  older  and  weaker  ones  to  under- 
take their  share  of  the  work  that  had  to  be  done,  or 
that  was  voluntarily  taken  up."  On  this  vessel  the 
six  hundred  and  twenty-nine  men  ranged  in  age  from 
twenty  to  eighty-five  years,  but  most  of  them  were 
between  twenty-five  and  thirty-five  years;  while  the 
women  (six  hundred  and  seventy-three  in  number) 
were  generally  under  forty.  The  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  children  were  mostly  over  five  years  of  age. 

Prince  Hilkov,  Joseph  S.  Elkinton  and  Job  S. 
Gidley  went  by  boat  from  Halifax  to  St.  John  with 
the  colonists,  and  during  that  short  trip  some  ten 
of  the  Doukhobor  men  and  women  were  united  in 
marriage.  The  ceremony  is  thus  described  by  one 
on  board  at  the  time.  "  It  was  the  simplest  thing 
imaginable.  It  took  place  on  the  spar  deck.  The 
young  men  approached  the  young  women  of  their 
choice,  who  were  attended  by  their  parents,  and 
asked  the  ladies  to  become  their  wive^,  having  first 
shaken  them  by  the  hand.  The  wooed  ones  con- 
sented, the  young  gentlemen  kissed  them,  and  it  was 


THE  EMIGEATION. 


195 


all  over.  But  the  brides'  parents  did  not  allow  the 
newlj-married  couples  to  depart  without  a  word  of 
advice.  The  young  couples  had  loved  each  other 
before  they  left  Kussia.  Under  the  arrangement?? 
made  for  the  distribution  of  the  immigrants  in  the 
^^'orthwest  they  would  have  been  separated  in  every 
instance,  but  for  their  marriage,  before  their  arrival 
here.  It  was  a  happy  thought,  and  no  happier  young 
people  ever  entered  St.  John  than  these  newly- 
wedded  ones."  Leopold  Soulerjitzky,  a  friend  of 
Count  Tolstoi,  had  this  company  of  Doukhobors  in 
charge,  and  he  had  selected  a  number  of  the  most 
capable  young  men  to  assist  him  during  the  voyage 
in  relieving  the  captain  and  his  crew.  The  five  bride- 
grooms mentioned  above  were  among  these. 

The  first  contingent  had  scarcely  been  landed  in 
the  immigration  buildings  at  Winnipeg,  and  else- 
where along  the  Canadian  Pacific  Raihvay,  when  the 
second  steamship.  Lake  Superior,  brought  another 
two  thousand  to  Halifax,  on  the  27th  of  the  same 
month.  The  son  of  Count  Leo  Tolstoi,  Count  Serg- 
ius  Tolstoi,  accompanied  this  party,  and  they  were 
all  detained  some  time  in  quarantine  on  account  of 
one  case  of  small-pox,  which  ended  fatally  during  the 
passage  from  Batoum.  On  the  17th  of  Second  month 
the  embargo  was  raised,  and  the  immigrants  sent  on 
to  join  their  brethren  on  the  prairies  of  the  I^orth- 
west  Territory.  Joseph  S.  Elkinton  also  went  with 
these  colonists  from  Halifax  to  St.  John,  holding 
meetings  with  them  on  shipboard. 


196 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  EFSSIA. 


The  Editor  of  The  (Philadelphia)  Friend  wrote, 
under  date  of  Second  month  -ith,  1899:  We  are  told 
that  when  the  Pilgrims  of  Plymouth  Colony,  having 
escaped  the  persecutions  of  their  native  country  on 
account  of  their  reKgion,  had  reached  the  coast  of 
Massachusetts  in  the  winter  season,  and  had  formed 
their  settlement,  they  were  approached  by  a  native 
with  the  cheering  cry,  '  Welcome,  Englishmen ! ' 
Two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  years  have  now 
passed,  when  a  migration  of  pilgrims  of  peace,  on 
a  far  grander  scale,  and  escaping  a  more  murderous 
persecution,  has  reached  our  Atlantic  coast  from 
Russia,  to  be  welcomed  first  by  a  native  of  the  same 
Old  Colony  of  Massachusetts,  and  member  of  a  re- 
ligious people,  who  in  their  turn  were  persecuted, 
some  of  them  also  unto  death,  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic, — a  people  who,  by  the  passive  resistance 
made  by  their  Gospel  of  Peace,  wore  out  the  sword 
of  religious  persecution  for  America. 

"  Who  but  a  representative  at  once  of  the  Quakers 
and  of  the  old  Pilgrim  Colony,  as  his  boat  neared  the 
two  thousand  Spirit-Wrestlers  crowding  the  mighty 
ship,  could  more  fittingly  have  sounded  forth  those 
living  words,  *  Welcome,  Doukhobors ! '  And  who 
but  a  representative  of  William  Perm's  colony  of  the 
^  Holy  Experiment '  of  Peace,  of  his  city  founded  in 
Brotherly  Love,  and  of  the  very  meeting-house  lot 
left  by  Penn  for  the  Gospel  of  Christ's  Spirit,  could 
with  more  historic  appropriateness  have  been  com- 
missioned by  the  Spirit,  as  he  felt  he  was,  to  meet 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


197 


the  exiles  in  a  Saviour's  sympathy,  and  with  bended 
knee,  in  that  impressive  scene  on  the  ship's  deck,  to 
render  devout  thanksgiving  and  invoke  upon  the  Pil- 
grims of  the  Universal  Brotherhood  the  Divine 
Blessing,  thus  linking  the  religious  Society  of 
Friends  with  this  historic  advent  and  welcome  ?  " 

L.  Soulerjitzky  said  that  when  he  read  from  the 
Bible  to  the  two  thousand  Doukhobors  (in  whom  he 
was  particularly  interested),  they  said:  "  That  is 
true;  that  is  good;  that  is  just  what  we  believe;  just 
like  our  religion."  They  also  maintained  that  it  was 
better  to  have  the  truths  they  had  listened  to  in  their 
hearts  and  heads,  rather  than  in  a  book.  And  their 
expressions  do  impress  one  as  coming  from  their 
hearts. 

When  groups  of  these  sturdy  champions  of  Peace 
were  gathered  about  Joseph  S.  Elkinton  on  the  ves- 
sel, as  they  sailed  from  Halifax  to  St.  John,  Prince 
Hilkov  interpreted  for  him.  The  depth  of  their  re- 
ligious feeling  and  experience  was  very  gratifying, 
and  at  times  it  was  manifest  that  the  gift  of  prophecy 
was  possessed  by  some  of  them,  the  women  in  par- 
ticular speaking  with  power  and  dignity.  The  equal- 
ity of  the  sexes  in  religious  matters  is  another  point 
of  resemblance  between  the  Doukhobors  and  the 
Society  of  Friends. 

Some  forty  Doukhobors  who  gathered  in  the  cabin 
of  the  steamship  spoke  with  appreciation  of  the  visit 
to  Russia  of  Stephen  Grellet  and  William  Allen,  in 
1818,  and  they  also  expressed  great  satisfaction  in 


198 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


the  interest  shown  for  them  by  members  of  the  same 
Society  at  the  present  time,  saying,  "  We  believe  in 
Christ,  who  sent  you  to  us." 

The  Canadian  Government  had  provided  some  log 
buildings  in  the  wilderness,  but  at  this  season  it  was 
difficult  to  reach  them.  Therefore,  most  of  the  four 
thousand  immigrants  were  accommodated  in  the 
large  immigration  halls  provided  for  colonists  along 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  An  eye-witness  at 
one  of  these  buildings  in  Winnipeg  said:  "  The  Douk- 
hobors  commenced  to  sing  their  psalms  in  that  pecu- 
liarly plaintive  manner  which  makes  one  feel  like 
crying.  The  sensitive  find  it  impossible  to  refrain 
from  using  a  handkerchief,  and  during  the  closing 
ceremony  many  a  hand  was  slipped  into  a  pocket,  and 
many  a  tear  slyly  w^ped  away."  The  hospitals  of 
the  Dominion  received  quite  a  number  of  those  who 
were  invalided  from  various  causes,  and  provision 
was  made,  temporarily,  for  the  support  of  all  of  the 
new  settlers.  One  baker  provided  five  thousand 
loaves  of  bread. 

We  can  but  contrast  the  fortunes  of  these  mem- 
bers of  the  Universal  Brotherhood  with  those  of 
some  forty-two  of  their  brethren  who  were  banished 
to  the  Siberian  Province  of  Yakoutsk,  in  1897-'98. 
After  a  year  of  great  hardship,  we  learn  that  "  their 
isolation  from  the  civilized  world,  the  wildness  of 
the  place,  the  severity  of  the  climate,  were  not  very 
much  better  than  the  situation  of  Nansen  on  an  ice- 
bound stretch  of  Arctic  land,  without  his  health  and 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


199 


modern  appliances  for  coping  with  the  severity  of  na- 
ture. And  yet,  owing  to  untiring  energy  and  cour- 
age, that  band  of  noble-minded,  though  simple- 
hearted,  men,  much  exhausted  by  previous  impris- 
onment and  trials,  torn  from  their  families,  contrived 
to  establish  a  real  outpost  of  civilization  in  a  savage 
wilderness."  These  exiles  are  aware  of  the  emigra- 
tion of  their  brethren  to  Canada.  Very  naturally 
they  manifest  the  greatest  interest  in  emigration 
from  Russia,  and  dream  of  being  permitted  to  join 
their  brethren.  It  is,  how^ever,  very  doubtful  whether 
this  permission  will  be  granted  soon,  as  they  are  all 
young  or  middle-aged  men.  The  Czar's  government 
seems  to  be  firm  in  its  efforts  to  enforce  military  ser- 
vice among  them,  or,  if  impossible  to  do  that,  to  re- 
place it  by  exile  for  the  same  term — eighteen  years. 

Besides  these  forty  in  Northern  Siberia,  there  are 
sixty  more  in  another  province,  for  whom  their  fam- 
ilies and  friends  in  Canada  continually  mourn.  The 
Advocate  of  Peace  for  Second  month,  1899,  comment- 
ing editorially  upon  this  arrival  on  our  shores,  said: 
"  It  is  a  part  of  the  great  struggle  now  going  on  to 
rid  the  civilized  world  of  the  curse  and  tyranny  of 
militarism;  a  tyranny  more  cruel  and  heartless  has 
never  afflicted  humanity.  The  system  of  conscrip- 
tion has  extended  itself  until  only  under  the  flags  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  of  all  the  great 
powers,  is  there  any  liberty  of  conscience  left,  so  far 
as  military  service  is  concerned.  And  there  are 
many  Americans  and  British  subjects  who  so  little 


200 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  EUSSIA. 


understand  and  appreciate  the  real  meaning  of 
Anglo-Saxon  ci^dl  and  religious  liberty,  that  they 
would  set  up  forced  military  service  in  these  coun- 
tries also.  There  is  a  steady  effort  being  made  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  to  do  this.  But  this  con- 
test with  militarism  must  be  carried  on,  not  simply 
to  save  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  from  its  worst  and 
most  degrading  form,  but  that  it  may  be  driven  from 
every  country  in  Europe,  and  all  the  peoples  of  the 
old  world  set  free  from  its  fetters.  Anglo-Saxon 
freedom  cannot  be  saved  unless  we  can  at  the  same 
time  save  the  rest  of  the  earth.  It  is  a  shame,  for 
the  description  of  which  there  is  no  sufficient  ad- 
jective in  the  language,  that,  after  nineteen  centuries 
of  Christianity,  there  should  be  any  country  on  the 
globe  calling  itself  Christian  where  an  upright,  in- 
dustrious, God-fearing  people  like  the  Doukhobors 
cannot  live  in  security  of  life  and  property.  Russia 
is  not  the  only  military  despotism.  The  Doukhobors 
could  not  live,  without  persecution,  in  Germany,  or 
France,  or  Austria,  or  Italy." 

The  colony  of  exiles  who  went  to  Cyprus  found  the 
climate  of  that  island  poorly  adapted  to  their  habits, 
and,  as  about  one  hundred  died  within  a  few  months, 
there  was  much  discontent  among  the  colonists,  and 
a  general  desire  to  go  to  Canada.  M.  A.  Marriage 
x\llen,  an  English  Friend,  wrote  under  date  of  Third 
month  21st,  1899,  that  she  had  visited  the  settle- 
ments, and  was  very  much  pleased  with  their  condi- 
tion, or  rather  the  ability  of  the  people  to  adapt 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


201 


themselves  to  the  circumstances  under  which  they  la- 
bored,— at  considerable  disadvantage.  The  children 
seemed  anxious  to  learn  English.  Wilson  Sturge  was 
invaluable  to  the  colonists,  and,  after  they  went  to 
Canada,  he  settled  up  their  affairs  most  creditably. 
He  died  on  his  voyage  home. 

Preparations  were  now  set  on  foot  to  bring  the  one 
thousand  survivors  from  Cyprus.  The  Lake  Su- 
perior was  again  chartered,  and  William  Bellows  (son 
of  John  Bellows,  of  Gloucester,  England)  went  to 
Larnaka,  where  he  met  with  Arthur  St.  John,  who 
had  taken  a  very  active  interest  in  these  emigrants 
from  the  inception  of  their  emigration,  visiting  them 
in  the  Caucasus  and  following  the  fortunes  of  the 
first  ship-load  until  they  were  settled  in  Canada.  The 
re-embarkation  of  these  exiles  from  Larnaka,  Cyprus, 
was  at  once  a  most  pathetic  and  a  picturesque  event. 
M.  A.  Marriage  Allen  describes  the  scene  graphically 
under  date  of  Fourth  month  19th,  1898:  "During 
the  day  some  of  the  Pergamos  Doukhobors  arrived, 
and  by  the  next  evening  over  one  thousand  were 
camped  in  various  groups.  The  nights  were  dry  and 
mild,  and  for  three  days  the  authorities  allowed  them 
to  stay  there,  make  their  fires  and  do  their  cooking 
on  the  quay,  and  all  was  so  orderly. 

"  On  Sunday  Wilson  Sturge  and  I  went  up  to  their 
sunrise  service.  One  hundred  and  fifty  in  '  go-to- 
meeting  '  clothes  were  assembled  in  the  center  of  the 
square.  After  their  hymn-chanting,  hand-shaking, 
kisses  of  peace  (this  is  a  national  custom  on  Easter 


202 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


Day,  from  Emperor  to  serf),  and  various  bows,  all 
performed  in  a  most  reverent  way,  their  leaders 
came  forward  and  tendered  most  hearty  thanks  to 
Wilson  Sturge  (their  *  good  grandfather,'  as  they  call 
him)  for  his  kind  care  and  help  during  their  stay  in 
Cyprus.  Then  all  prostrated  themselves  on  the 
ground  and  dispersed. 

The  people  seemed  much  affected  at  this,  their 
last  religious  service,  in  the  island  where  they  leave 
so  many  of  their  loved  ones  in  the  silent  grave.'' 

The  voyage  to  Quebec  was  prosperous,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  one  who  died  on  the  way,  all  landed 
safely  in  that  port.  Leopold  Soulerjitzky  had  this 
party  also  in  charge.  Joseph  S.  Elkinton  was  on 
hand,  as  before,  to  welcome  them  upon  arrival,  and 
Captain  Taylor  had  him  come  upon  the  bridge  to 
address  the  immigrants,  who  responded  through  an 
interpreter,  expressing  their  appreciation  of  the  sym- 
pathy and  kindness  manifested  to  them  by  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends.  The  captain  also  said  he  had  be- 
come very  much  attached  to  the  Doukhobors,  and 
spoke  with  a  feeling  of  sincere  sympathy  with  them 
in  their  trials,  both  before  embarking  from  Cyprus 
and  while  on  the  ocean. 

These  colonists  were  promptly  transported  to 
Yorkton  and  Assiniboia,  but  the  lateness  of  the  sea- 
son, retarded  by  unusually  heavy  rains,  did  not  allow 
of  their  getting  at  once  upon  the  land  allotted  to 
tliem,  and  many  of  them  being  sick  with  malarial 
fever  (brought  from  the  Caucasus  and  Cyprus),  their 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


208 


condition  was  rather  pitiable  for  some  time,  while 
they  were  temporarily  encamped  in  tents  near  York- 
ton. 

We  now  turn  to  the  2,278  Doukhobors  (1,540 
adults  and  738  children)  who  sailed  from  Batoum 
on  the  12th  of  Fifth  month,  1899,  arriving  at  Quebec 
on  the  6th  of  Sixth  month  following.  This  was  the 
last  of  the  "  Larger  Party  "  remaining  in  the  Cau- 
casus, and  these  came  from  the  Province  of  Kars. 
They  had  sold  out  their  belongings,  and  so  raised 
some  $42,000  (of  which  $33,000  was  paid  by  them 
for  the  steamer),  beside  the  provisions  required  for 
the  passage.  These  pilgrims  lost  five  of  their  number 
while  en  route  to  America,  and  there  were  two  births 
on  board  during  that  time.  They  were  detained  in 
quarantine  at  Quebec  for  more  than  three  weeks^ 
because  of  a  case  of  small-pox. 

It  was  a  disappointment  both  to  Prince  Hilkov 
and  to  Joseph  S.  Elkinton  not  to  be  allowed  to  speak 
with  the  newly-arrived  colonists,  but  they  accepted 
the  situation,  and  journeyed  westward,  to  see  how 
those  who  had  gone  ahead  were  faring,  in  Manitoba 
and  Assiniboia.  They  were  accompanied  by  William 
Evans,  a  Friend  from  Philadelphia,  who  had  taken 
a  deep  interest  in  the  Doukhobors,  and  had  acted  as 
treasurer  for  the  Doukhobor  Committee  of  Philadel- 
phia Friends.  Prince  Hilkov  had  previously  gone  to 
the  Prince  Albert  district  of  Saskatchewan  to  secure 
land  for  this  party  of  Kars  Doukhobors,  and  he  very 
much  wished  to  explain  to  them  the  reason  why  the 


204 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


Canadian  Government  preferred  to  give  them  sec- 
tions situated  some  three  hundred  miles  to  the  north- 
west from  the  other  settlements  in  Assiniboia  and 
Manitoba,  where  all  of  the  previous  arrivals  had  been 
located. 

The  soil  of  the  prairie  in  these  sections  of  the 
Xorthwest  Territory  is  one  or  two  feet  deep,  consist- 
ing of  a  black  vegetable  loam,  resting  upon  clay  of 
great  depth;  when  wet  it  is  particularly  sticky.  A 
missionary  told  the  writer  that  when  he  was  travel- 
ing through  this  district,  some  twenty-five  years  be- 
fore, he  overtook  a  Scotchman,  who  was  wading 
through  mud  ankle  deep.  The  first  word  addressed 
to  the  prospecting  settler  was  one  of  commiseration 
for  his  lot.  But  it  seemed  very  little  appreciated, 
as  the  stranger  forthwith  plunged  both  hands  into  the 
liquid  earth  at  his  feet,  and  held  up  the  dripping  soil 
with  evident  satisfaction,  protesting  in  his  Gaelic  dia- 
lect, "  This  is  just  the  right  kind  of  stuff  to  make 
bread  out  of."  His  would-be  comforter,  quickly  ad- 
justing his  sympathy  to  the  attitude  of  his  newly- 
found  parishioner,  promptly  responded,  "  Then  you 
are  just  the  right  kind  of  a  man  to  settle  here." 

The  last  contingent  of  the  Universal  Brotherhood 
were  taken  directly  to  their  allotments,  fifty  miles 
south  of  the  town  of  Prince  Albert,  early  in  the  Sev- 
enth month,  1899,  where  more  capacity  and  progress 
have  been  shown  than  at  any  of  the  other  settle- 
ments. 

William  Evans  described  the  colony  of  Cyprus 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


205 


immigrants  thus:  "  Upon  awakening  at  Yorkton 
(where  he,  with  Prince  Hilkov  and  Joseph  S.  Elkin- 
ton,  had  arrived  at  midnight,  the  13th  of  Sixth 
month),  the  first  sight  was  the  Cyprus  conical  tents, 
and  others  of  various  shapes,  thickly  dotting  the  prai- 
rie. In  one  roomy  tent  a  sort  of  Russian  stove  had 
been  constructed  of  stones  and  clay,  with  a  circular  ? 
aperture  for  the  kettle,  and  a  sheet-iron  drum  at  the 
rear  to  radiate  the  heat.  The  women  and  girls  were 
clad  in  vestments  of  bright  colors,  generally  red  and 
yellow,  but  sometimes  in  part  blue,  and  there  was  no 
attempt  at  tight  lacing.  Skirts  by  no  means  dragged 
on  the  ground.  The  women's  heads  were  invariably 
covered  with  kerchiefs,  of  lighter  color  than  the 
dress  material.  We  were  told  that  it  is  considered 
unseemly  for  women  to  be  seen  by  men  with  uncov- 
ered heads. 

"  Notwithstanding  their  total  abstinence  from  flesh 
food,  both  men  and  women  were  of  good  stature  and 
well  developed  muscularly,  evidently  able  for  work. 
The  children  seemed  cheerful  and  lively,  and  won- 
derfully restrained,  under  parental  care,  from  any 
display  of  selfishness  or  quarrelsomeness;  but  in  no 
instance  do  I  recall  seeing  a  parent  chide  or  correct 
a  child.  There  seemed  throughout  the  whole  com- 
munity no  evidence  of  unhappiness  or  of  impatience, 
but  the  indications  all  were  of  religious  restraint  and 
of  apparent  thankfulness  for  release  from  a  country 
where  they  were  unable  to  carry  out  their  convic- 
tions unmolested,  and  of  hopefulness  for  the  future, 


THE  EXODUS  FEOM  RUSSIA. 


in  their  newly-chosen  land.  In  looking  upon  these 
people,  I  suppose  I  have  never  seen  any  who  as 
a  community  have  come  so  near  realizing  the  advice 
of  the  apostle,  '  Having  food  and  raiment  let  us  be 
therewith  content.' '' 

On  this  day  (the  weather  being  very  fine)  Joseph 
S.  Elkinton  requested  the  opportunity  of  meeting 
with  the  colonists  in  a  compact  company  for  religious 
service.  Their  gathering  was  a  novel  and  truly  in- 
teresting scene,  and  very  typical  of  their  orderly  way 
of  assembling.  William  Evans  describes  the  occa- 
sion thus:  "As  they  approached,  the  women  w^ere 
stationed  in  rows  of  perhaps  twenty  feet  in  length, 
one  behind  the  other,  at  the  south  end  of  a  rectangle. 
The  boys  and  girls  were  placed  in  rows  of  perhaps 
forty  feet  in  length,  at  right  angles  to  the  women — 
the  older  children  behind  the  lesser. 

"  The  end  of  the  rectangle  opposite  the  women 
was  left  open,  or  unoccupied.  Then  the  men  stood  in 
lines  opposite  the  children,  with  the  American  strang- 
ers at  the  end  next  the  women.  After  five  or 
six  hundred  had  thus  assembled,  and  the  chanting 
was  ended,  and  after  the  visitors  had  addressed  the 
company,  they  responded  through  Prince  Hilkov. 
All  knelt  upon  one  knee  and  bowed  their  heads  to  the 
ground,  and  he  explained  that  the  bowing  was  not 
to  man,  but  in  acknowledgment  of  the  blessing  of 
the  Divine  Spirit,  and  to  signify  their  entire  assent 
to  the  spiritual  truths  that  had  been  declared;  and 
they  also  said  that  before  they  left  Russia  they  had 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


207 


been  told  there  was  a  people  in  this  country,  called 
Quakers,  who  held  spiritual  views  like  their  own, 
and  that  they  were  glad  to  be  acquainted  with  them; 
and  that  they  were  thankful  to  this  people,  not  only 
for  helping  them  pecuniarily,  but  also  for  giving 
them  their  sympathy  in  a  strange  land.  Their  de- 
meanor and  actions  showed  plainly  the  sincerity  of 
their  feeling  and  expression. 

William  Evans  continues:  From  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  our  interview  there  was  no  indication 
of  listlessness  or  inattention,  but  a  serious  and  earn- 
est entering  into  communion  of  feeling  which  was 
very  remarkable.  Finally,  they  asked  through  the 
Prince  that  our  Society  would  intervene  with  the 
Czar  for  the  release  of  their  relatives  who  are  ban- 
ished to  Siberia;  and  here  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing parts  of  the  whole  deeply-impressive  occasion 
manifested  itself.  Six  matronly  women  left  the  line 
in  which  they  stood,  and  advanced  in  front  of  us. 
These  were,  the  Prince  said,  the  mothers  or  relatives 
of  some  of  the  banished  ones.''  After  they  were  told 
that  such  an  appeal  had  been  already  made  to  the 
Czar,  and  that  the  Society  of  Friends  would  do  all 
in  its  power  to  secure  their  release,  "  the  women 
quietly  wiped  their  tears,  and  one,  with  noble  fea- 
tures, said  that  they  were  the  mothers  of  sons  who 
were  in  banishment,  and  they  earnestly  hoped  that 
our  people  would  do  what  they  could  for  their  help. 
By  this  time  such  was  the  intensity  of  feeling  that 
the  regular  ranks  of  the  rectangle  were  broken,  and 


208 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


the  people  pressed  in  close,  until  there  was  only  a 
small  circle  clear,  with  the  women  in  the  center.  We 
asked  them  to  give  us  a  list  of  all  their  people  who 
were  in  Siberia,  with  their  post-office  addresses, 
which  they  readily  undertook  to  do,  and  by  next 
morning  some  two  hundred  names  were  handed  to 
the  Prince." 

Peter  Jansen,  of  Jansen,  ^^'ebraska,  whose  father 
was  driven  out  of  Kussia  some  thirty-five  years  ago, 
because  of  his  conscientious  objection  to  the  Russian 
Church,  visited  the  Cyprus  Doukhobors  soon  after 
they  arrived  at  Yorkton.  He  says :  "  I  asked  a  pleas- 
ant-featured man,  ^  Do  you  think  you  will  be  able  to 
get  along  in  your  new  home  ? '  He  looked  up,  and 
the  faith  that  was  in  him  was  depicted  in  his  face 
when  he  answered,  ^  The  God  who  has  selected  this 
land  for  us,  where  we  can  worship  Him  according  to 
the  dictates  of  our  consciences,  will  certainly  not  let 
us  starve !  '  The  tears  were  hard  to  keep  back  when 
an  old  mother  came  and  said,  ^  I  have  two  sons  who 
were  deported  to  Siberia  because  they  would  not 
serve  in  the  army,  and  I  am  here  alone;  and  I  will 
ask  the  blessings  of  God  upon  thee  day  and  night  if 
thou  wilt  bring  them  over  to  me.'  "  Peter  Jansen 
adds:  "I  believe  the  Lord  will  take  care  of  these 
His  children,  but  we  who  believe  in  the  Prince  of 
Peace  should  be  willing  to  act  as  His  servants." 

Dr.  Mercer,  of  the  Lake  Superior,  was  so  inter- 
ested in  the  settlement  of  the  Doukhobors  in  their 
new  home  that  he  obtained  leave  of  the  captain  to 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


209 


accompany  them  to  the  Xorthwest  Territory,  and 
rendered  them  many  valuable  services. 

Joseph  S.  Elkinton  and  William  Evans  received 
the  following  letter  from  the  Kars  Doukhobors,  at 
that  time  detained  at  the  quarantine  station  near 
Quebec,  in  reply  to  a  letter  written  to  them.  It  was 
translated  by  Prince  Hilkov: 

"  13th  of  Sixth  month,  1899. 

"  Dear  Friends  and  Brothers: 

"  Deeply  glad  were  our  hearts  that  faith  in  Christ 
made  you  participators  of  the  wisdom  of  God,  and 
therefore  you  felt  with  us  in  our  heavy  trials. 

"  We  believe  that  there  are  many  kind  people  in 
the  w^orld,  who,  like  shining  lights,  burn  amidst  the 
surrounding  darkness.  May  the  Lord  save  you,  dear 
brothers,  for  the  love  which  prompted  you  to  come 
and  meet  us,  as  a  people  of  the  same  faith  in  Christ, 
offering  your  life  for  your  brethren  and  fellow-be- 
ings. May  you  reap  a  measure  full  of  heavenly  and 
earthly  treasure  from  the  almighty  hand  of  our 
Heavenly  Father. 

"  It  is  truly  grievous  that  it  was  not  permitted  to 
you  to  meet  us,  but  we  must  not  be  troubled  at  this. 
Let  us  place  our  faith  in  God  and  His  mercy,  for  He 
is  the  Eternal  and  Living  King,  and  will  arrange  all 
in  accordance  with  His  holy  will. 

"  We  pray  the  same  Lord  and  all  good  people  to 
forgive  us  our  trespasses,  by  which  we  may  have  of- 


210 


THE  EXOBIJS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


fended  and  grieved  somebody;  and  we  pray  you,  dear 
friends,  to  transmit  our  heartfelt  greetings  to  all 
brothers  and  sisters  who  have  faith  in  Christ,  the 
Sa\dour  of  our  souls,  who  live  in  Philadelphia  and 
the  United  States.  We  remain  your  loving  brothers 
of  the  Christian  Brotherhood,  now  living  in  quaran- 
tine on  Grosse  Isle. 

"  Simeon  Chernov, 

^'  Paul  Planidin, 

"  Simeon  Vereschagin.'^ 

About  this  time  there  was  a  lively  debate  in  the 
Dominion  House  of  Commons  on  the  character  of 
the  immigrants  coming  in  such  numbers  to  Canada, 
and  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  felt  called  upon  to 
defend  the  policy  of  the  Government.  After  speak- 
ing of  the  testimony  concerning  their  cleanliness, 
etc.,  given  by  the  captains  and  conductors  who  had 
the  Doukhobors  in  charge  before  reaching  their 
Western  home  (where  few  had  been  willing  to  set- 
tle up  to  that  time),  he  said:  "  In  so  far  as  the  Douk- 
hobors  are  concerned,  I  have  only  this  to  say:  I  am 
altogether  at  one  with  my  right  honorable  friend  the 
Prime  Minister,  when  he  suggests  that  it  is  not  a  rea- 
son why  we  should  keep  people  out  of  Canada  be- 
cause they  have  conscientious  objection  to  bearing 
arms.  I  think  the  House  will  not  agree  with  the  sug- 
gestion that  because  a  man  may  have  conscientious 
objections  to  bearing  arms  therefore  he  has  not  cour- 
age, therefore  he  has  not  those  qualities  which  go  to 


THE  EMIGRATION. 


211 


make  a  good  citizen.  Sir,  there  is  many  a  man  who  is 
ready  to  fight,  and  who  has  no  courage  at  all;  he  has 
nothing  in  the  sense  of  true  courage.  ...  I  do  not 
believe  that  I  myself  or  my  honorable  friend  would 
go  through  what  these  Doukhobors  have  gone 
through  for  the  sake  of  their  convictions.  I  doubt 
if  there  are  five  men  in  this  house  who  would  show 
the  moral  courage,  who  would  show  the  tenacity,  who 
would  show  the  fortitude  which  these  people  have 
shown  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  faith  which 
they  believe  to  be  the  true  faith." 


CHAPTER  m. 


THE  CA^'ADIA^'  SETTLEMEIST. 

The  Dominion  government  set  aside  some  two 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand,  four  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  of  prairie  land  for  the  seven  thousand 
three  hundred  and  sixty-one  Doukhobors  (one  thou- 
sand five  hundred  of  these  were  men)  who  had  taken 
refuge  within  its  jurisdiction.  The  larger  part  of  this 
tract  was  located  near  the  junction  of  Manitoba  and 
the  !N^orthwest  Territories  of  Saskatchewan  and  As- 
siniboia,  some  seventy-five  miles  north  of  Yorkton. 
The  most  western  settlement,  on  Duck  Lake,  is  sepa- 
rated by  three  hundred  miles  from  the  former,  and 
has  about  one-fifth  of  the  entire  number  of  villages. 

The  homestead  laws,  kno^vn  as  the  "  Three  Years 
System,"  require  every  settler  to  reside  six  months 
of  each  year  on  his  "  quarter-section  "  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres.  Six  months'  "  grace  "  is  al- 
lowed those  who  "  enter  "  their  applications  in  the 
fall,  while  in  the  case  of  a  foreigner,  this  is  extended 
to  a  year.  Fifteen  acres  must  be  under  cultivation  at 
the  end  of  the  third  year,  in  order  to  perfect  "  the 
title.  If  the  homesteader  fails  to  reside  upon  this 
quarter-section  half  of  each  year,  or  to  "  perfect  "  his 
entry  by  paying  $10,  he  runs  the  risk  of  having  an- 
other settler  enter  for  the  same,  if  the  Land  Depart- 
ment cancels  the  first  entry.  A  settler  cannot  assign 
his  prospective  homestead,  or  any  part  of  it,  before 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


213 


receiving  his  patent,  and  the  law  provides  that,  even 
if  he  agrees  to  assign  his  homestead,  or  any  part  of 
it,  before  receiving  his  patent,  the  entry  shall  be  for- 
feited, unless  the  Minister  shall  otherwise  decide. 

This  is  intended  to  protect  the  settler  against  per- 
sons who  might  otherwise  acquire  his  rights  for  some 
worthless  consideration.  If  an  entry  is  thus  can- 
celed, the  settler  who  has  violated  this  law  cannot 
obtain  another  homestead. 

These  regulations  have  been  given  in  some  detail, 
because  the  greatest  difficulties  in  the  Doukhobor 
Settlement  have  arisen  in  connection  with  these  Im- 
migration land  laws,  as  we  have  already  seen,  be- 
cause of  the  Doukhobors'  communistic  preference 
to  hold  their  landed  property  together.  The  Cana- 
dian government  therefore  issued  a  notice  to  these 
colonists  that  they  must  apply  in  severalty  for  their 
homesteads  by  the  first  of  Fifth  month,  1902,  or 
their  lands  wiU  be  open  for  occupancy  by  other  set- 
tlers. This  has  not  been  permitted,  as  the  time  has 
been  extended  a  year. 

It  is  both  reasonable  and  right  that  these  colonists, 
in  common  with  all  who  have  received  the  benefits 
of  such  a  liberal  government,  should  be  willing  to 
submit  to  these  legal  requirements.  As  it  is,  how- 
ever, a  matter  of  conscience  with  many  of  them,  edu- 
cation and  time,  as  well  as  patience,  will  be  required 
to  adjust  these  difficulties,  without  doing  injustice  to 
either  party. 

The  law  permitting  "  Settlers*  Effects  "  to  be  car- 


214 


THE  EXODUS  FEOM  RUSSIA. 


ried  at  greatly  reduced  rates,  was,  through  the  cour- 
tesy of  the  Dominion  and  railway  officials,  taken  ad- 
vantage of  by  the  friends  of  the  Doukhobors,  who 
provided  them  with  several  carloads  of  food,  cloth- 
ing, etc.,  during  the  winter  of  1899-1900. 

Under  the  Customs  Tariff  of  Canada,  a  bona  fide 
settler  may  bring  with  him,  free  of  duty,  wearing 
apparel,  household  furniture,  professional  books,  im- 
plements and  tools  of  trade  or  occupation,  which  the 
settler  has  had  in  use  for  at  least  six  months  before 
removal  to  Canada.  He  can  also  take  with  him  carts 
and  vehicles  and  live  stock,  under  certain  limitations. 
Of  course,  these  Russian  Colonists  had  little  to  bring 
with  them,  after  years  of  impoverishment,  so  pur- 
chases had  to  be  made  at  once  for  the  men,  women  and 
children. 

The  Montreal  Women's  Council  interested  them- 
selves very  much  in  the  junior  portion  of  these  immi- 
grants. One  who  had  the  pleasure  of  distributing 
some  gifts  among  them,  writes:  It  would  make 
your  heart  glad  to  see  the  joy  of  the  children  as  I 
lifted  article  after  article  out  of  the  bag,  and  to  see 
the  look  of  expectancy  on  their  faces.  The  slates 
and  books  are  very  much  needed.  The  readers  are 
quite  necessary,  for  the  children  are  learning  rapidly, 
and  the  older  ones  can  read  and  write.  .  .  . 

The  Doukhobors  themselves  do  not  make  their 
wants  known.  They  are  a  gentle,  kind  people,  grate- 
ful for  any  little  kindnesses  shown  them,  and  they 
deeply  appreciate  what  has  been  done  for  them  here. 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


215 


Some  of  their  history  is  so  sad.  There  is  hardly  a 
family  but  contains  a  father  or  a  brother  who  has 
been  in  prison,  and  suffered  frightful  tortures.  I 
have  in  mind  several  families  whose  fathers  and 
mothers  are  exiled  in  Siberia,  and  a  brave  little  fel- 
low named  Ivan  Boynikov,  one  of  the  brightest 
pupils,  who  wishes  me  to  thank  you  for  his  top 
and  book,  told  me  to-day  that  his  mother  died 
heart-broken  just  before  he  left  Russia,  be- 
cause his  father  and  brother  could  not  come  with 
him  to  Canada,  for  they  are  in  confinement  in 
mercury  mines  in  Siberia.  These  people  have  been 
tried  in  the  fire  and  not  found  wanting.  These  sim- 
ple, unlettered  peasants  can  teach  us  lessons  of  he- 
roic sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  the  Truth. 

"  Unlettered  as  they  are,  for  only  about  three  in 
one  hundred  can  read,  they  possess  true  spiritual 
wisdom,  that  puts  many  of  us  to  shame.  They  have 
been  much  criticised  here,  owing  to  their  peculiar 
religion.  The  fact  is,  they  have  hold  of  the  very 
basis  of  Christianity,  the  true  Christ  religion  without 
creed,  forms  or  dogma,  and  they  exemplify  it  in  their 
lives.  May  their  example  enter  the  hearts  of  our 
Canadian  people,  and  their  light  shine  for  all  the 
world.'' 

As  an  illustration  of  the  practical  way  in  which 
these  exiles  adapted  themselves  to  the  requirements 
of  their  new  home,  the  picture  shows  a  unique  team 
of  some  twenty  women  drawing  a  plough  through  the 
prairie  sod.    This  was  done  because  the  men  of  the 


216 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


colony  went  to  work  at  once  on  the  railroad,  in  order 
to  get  some  money  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
community,  and  because  they  owned  few,  if  any, 
oxen  or  horses  at  that  time.  Some  one  hundred 
acres  were  thus  prepared  for  the  wheat  and  other 
seeds,  within  a  few  weeks,  without  physical  injury 
being  sustained  by  those  women,  who  were  so  ser- 
viceable in  using  their  remarkable  strength  in  this 
time  of  need.  A  matron  would  walk  at  the  side  of 
the  plow  to  watch  her  younger  sisters,  lest  they 
should  over-exert  themselves.  There  was  some  criti- 
cism expressed  because  of  this  noble  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  Doukhobor  women,  and,  such  is  the  per- 
versity of  human  nature,  that  criticism  was  circu- 
lated from  one  side  of  the  Continent  to  the  other,  so 
that  Joseph  S.  Elkinton  thought  it  necessary  to  deny 
some  of  the  charges  made  about  the  Doukhobor  men 
imposing  upon  their  wives  and  sisters.  The  (Phila- 
delphia) Public  Ledger  of  Seventh  month  12tli, 
1900,  contained  his  rejoinder  to  its  reprint  of  the 
(San  Francisco)  Examiner^ s  false  statements,  viz.: 
Having  met  the  four  arrivals  of  the  steamships 
bringing  seven  thousand  of  the  Doukhobors  to 
America,  and  having  sailed  with  the  first  two  steam- 
ships from  Halifax  to  St.  John,  and  witnessed  the 
work  of  the  men  on  the  discharge  of  the  cargoes  and 
loading  of  the  trains,  and  afterwards  at  their  work  in 
Manitoba  and  Assiniboia,  I  saw  nothing  to  justify 
the  expressions  in  the  clippings  alluded  to,  as  arbi- 
trary, or  domineering  over  the  women;  but  what  wad 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


217 


carried  on,  was  done  with  propriety  and  dignity,  in  a 
peaceable,  quiet  way,  with  no  apparent  want  of  af- 
fection, but  decidedly  to  the  contrary.  The  state- 
ment that  they  are  quite  willing  to  exchange  a 
woman  for  an  ox  or  a  horse  is  a  base  slander. 

"  Where  there  is  everything  to  do  and  very  little 
means  at  command,  men,  women  and  children  are 
compelled  to  do  all  they  can  to  advance  the  general 
interest.  .  .  .  They  had  no  horses  or  oxen  upon  ar- 
rival in  Manitoba  and  Assiniboia,  and  very  few  of  the 
villages,  at  this  writing,  have  more  than  one  or  two 
teams;  under  these  circumstances  it  was  no  disgrace 
for  some  of  the  plowing  to  be  done  by  hand;  as  to 
their  being  yoked,  the  rope  that  drew  the  plow  was 
knotted  around  the  middle  of  a  stick,  which  they 
could  press  forward  as  they  walked,  rather  than  pull 
by  one  hand  on  the  rope.  .  .  .  Their  situation  ap- 
peals strongly  to  the  humane,  as  not  one-half  of  them 
arrived  in  time  for  spring  planting,  and  a  severe 
frost,  coming  on  earlier  than  usual,  has  blighted 
much  that  was  planted.^' 

The  superior  abilities  of  the  women  were  also  dem- 
onstrated in  the  way  they  built  their  houses,  even 
to  plastering  the  walls  with  their  own  hands. 

Upon  arrival  at  their  several  allotments  the  Douk- 
hobors  at  once  constructed,  in  addition  to  those  the 
Canadian  government  had  previously  built,  log 
houses,  with  clay  between  the  logs;  some  of  these 
were  half  "  dug-outs,'^  while  others  were  all  above 
ground,  and  smoothly  plastered  on  the  inside.  It 


218 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  EUSSIA. 


was  surprising  to  those  who  witnessed  these  women 
at  work,  to  see  how  smoothly  they  finished  the  top 
coat  of  plaster  with  their  bare  hands,  and  what  great 
deftness  in  manual  labor  of  various  kinds  they  ex- 
hibited. 

Dr.  William  Saunders,  of  the  Experimental  Agri- 
cultural Department  of  Canada,  made  a  visit  to  the 
Xorth  Colony  settlement  at  Thunder  Hill  shortly 
after  its  villages  were  first  laid  out.  He  reported 
their  houses  "  substantially  built  of  logs,  and  roofed 
with  poles,  on  which  prairie  sod  about  four  inches 
thick  is  laid,  and  the  interstices  filled  with  fine  earth. 
The  sides  of  the  houses  are  well  plastered  on  the  ex- 
terior, with  clay  mixed  with  cut  straw,  and  some- 
times on  the  inside  with  the  same  material.  The 
furniture  in  the  houses  is  all  of  their  own  make,  and 
consists  of  a  few  rough  stools  to  sit  on,  and  higher 
benches  which  serve  as  tables.  The  beds  are  made 
of  a  series  of  poplar  poles  about  six  feet  long  and 
three  or  four  inches  in  diameter,  placed  close  to- 
gether along  the  wall.  On  these  some  hay  is  placed, 
and  over  this  a  piece  of  thick  felt.  Most  of  the  peo- 
ple recline  on  this  structure  with  their  heads  to  the 
wall,  feet  outwards,  using  such  bed-clothes  as  they 
can  command.  A  few  have  feather  beds,  and  cur- 
tains to  divide  the  sleeping  places  into  compartments. 
Most  of  the  houses  consist  of  one  large  room  for  liv- 
ing, cooking,  eating  and  sleeping.  The  aim  is  to  have 
in  all  their  villages  a  house  for  each  family,  and  their 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


219 


houses  are  being  erected  at  varying  distances,  in  two 
rows,  with  a  wide  street  between  them.  .  .  . 

"  In  each  house  there  is  a  Kussian  oven,  which 
serves  for  the  warming  of  the  building  and  for  cook- 
ing the  food.  Each  village  is  provided  with  a  steam 
bath  house,  in  which  steam  is  generated  by  pouring 
water  on  heated  stones.  In  this  way  a  profuse  per- 
spiration is  brought  out,  and  the  body  is  whisked 
briskly  with  a  bunch  of  small  branches  of  the  mossy 
cup  oak,  the  large  leaves  of  which  still  hold  tightly 
to  the  branches."  "  Godliness  and  cleanliness  "  ap- 
pears to  be  their  living  motto.  The  floors  of  their 
houses  are  made  of  earth  beaten  to  a  smooth,  hard 
surface.  Each  room  has  a  window  or  two  and  a  door, 
although  little  provision  was  made  for  ventilation. 
Large  iron  kettles  of  the  capacity  of  a  barrel  were 
used  for  laundry  purposes,  and  a  large  bowl  was  the 
family  dish,  from  which  the  vegetable  soup  was 
served.   Wooden  spoons  are  used. 

Two  blacksmith  shops  had  been  promptly  erected 
by  the  Doukhobors,  and  some  farm  wagons  and  ox 
yokes  made.  Short  sections  of  trees,  hollowed  out 
and  closed  at  one  end,  were  used  as  tubs  and  kegs. 
All  their  clothing  was  made  by  themselves,  and  the 
estimated  cost  of  living  was  $2  a  month  per  capita. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Eliza  H.  Varney,  a 
minister  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  Canada,  and 
Job  S.  Gidley,  visited  the  Doukhobor  Colonies. 
They  were  deeply  impressed,  not  only  with  the  cheer- 
fulness under  many  privations,  but  also  with  their 


220 


THE  EXODUS  FKOM:  BUSSIA. 


unusual  powers  to  appropriate  everything  in  their 
way  for  the  purpose  of  improving  their  estate.  Eliza 
H.  Varney  distributed  medicines,  which  were  much 
needed,  and  thus  supplemented  the  self-sacrificing 
efforts  of  the  Kussian  nurses,  Vera  Welistchkina, 
Sasha  Satz,  Marie  Robitz  and  Anna  de  Carousa,  who 
came  over  with  the  Doukhobors.  She  also  minis- 
tered unto  them  spiritually.  Under  date  of  Seventh 
month  28th,  1899,  she  wrote:  "Whilst  we  were  at 
dinner,  one  of  their  women  came  to  ask  if  it  would 
disturb  us  if  they  sang  in  the  large  room.  The  in- 
terpreter said,  ^  Xo,'  so  thev  chanted  all  the  time  we 
were  eating.  After  dinner  we  found  that  outside  the 
doors  they  had  collected  a  large  number  of  children 
in  a  half  circle,  with  the  men  and  women  at  either 
end,  and  on  stepping  out  all  these  children  (one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  or  more)  bowed  down  three  times,  in 
humble  gratitude  for  what  had  been  given  for  their 
benefit.  Many  of  these  children  have  the  most  open, 
kind-hearted  faces  I  ever  beheld." 

Just  before  leaving  Selkirk,  Job  S.  Gidley  ad- 
dressed more  than  one  thousand  of  the  Doukhobors, 
who  had  not  yet  reached  their  prairie  homes,  and, 
Eliza  Varney  said,  "  he  gave  them  excellent 
counsel,  which  they  took  very  kindly,  and 
they  had  their  interpreter  to  thank  us  for  our 
sympathy  and  words  of  comfort."  As  an  in- 
stance of  that  spiritual  communion  which 
kindred  souls  can  feel  and  enjoy  together,  even  in 
the  absence  of  a  common  language,  she  wrote  to  a 


PHOTOGRAPHED    BY    WILLIAM  BELLOWS. 


Outside   Bake-Ovens.    The   first    structures   erected   by   the  Doukhobors 
upon  their  arrival  at  their  settlements. 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


221 


friend  about  this  visit:  "  We  visited  both  hospitals 
(in  Winnipeg),  one  for  infants  and  one  for  adults, 
and  in  both  of  these  prayer  was  offered,  believing 
our  heavenly  Father  would  understand  the  feeble 
petition  of  one  of  his  little  ones,  even  if  there  was  no 
interpreter  to  enable  them  to  understand.  God  so 
carried  that  petition  home  to  their  hearts  that  they 
were  tendered  to  tears,  and  kissed  our  hands  in  token 
of  love  and  respect." 

Rose  M.  Osburn,  who  took  a  most  active  interest 
in  these  colonists  from  their  first  arrival  in  Canada, 
accompanied  Eliza  H.  Varney  and  Job  S.  Gidley  dur- 
ing this  visit.  She  had  taught  some  of  the  Doukho- 
bor  children  who  first  came  to  Winnipeg,  and  con- 
sidered them  very  apt  scholars  in  learning  the  Eng- 
lish language.  This  was  also  the  experience  of  J^el- 
lie  Baker,  who  went  to  the  settlement  in  Assiniboia 
a  year  later,  with  Eliza  H.  Varney,  for  the  purpose 
of  starting  a  school  for  the  children.  The  attention 
of  Friends  and  others  at  this  important  period  of 
their  settlement  in  the  IN'orthwest  Territory  was 
fully  appreciated  by  the  Doukhobors. 

It  may  be  stated  before  passing  from  this  timely 
visit  of  Eliza  H.  Varney  and  Job  S.  Gidley,  that  they 
visited  thirty-eight  out  of  the  forty-two  villages  be- 
longing to  the  l^orth  and  South  Colonies,  eighty  and 
fifty  miles  respectively,  north  of  Yorkton,  Assini- 
boia. They  were  accompanied  by  Ignace  Almanov- 
sky.  He  had  come  out  to  Canada  twelve  years  be- 
fore, having  been  repeatedly  imprisoned  in  Russia 


222 


THE  EXODUS  FEOM  RUSSIA. 


for  preaching  the  Gospel.  His  wife  was  an  English 
woman,  and  both  were  good  interpreters. 

This  trip  over  the  broken  prairie  and  along  trails 
that  were  easily  lost,  involved  a  great  deal  of  exer- 
tion, patience  and  fortitude,  especially  when  fording 
the  rivers.  On  one  occasion  Eliza  H.  Yarney  sat  for 
an  hour  or  more  after  nightfall,  in  the  middle  of  the 
Assiniboine  Eiver,  with  the  water  pouring  over  the 
bed  of  the  carriage,  not  knowing  whether  they  would 
get  to  the  farther  side,  as  their  horses  had  refused  to 
pull,  and  the  rope  attached  to  their  vehicle  had  re- 
peatedly broken  when  those  on  the  land  attempted 
to  pull  them  to  the  bank;  yet  she  said  she  felt  per- 
fectly calm  through  it  all. 

The  Western  Sun  (Brandon,  Manitoba),  of  date 
l^s'inth  month  14th,  1899,  contained  a  very  interest- 
ing report  of  Eliza  H.  Varney's  experiences.  It 
states  that  she  found  the  dwellings  of  the  Doukho- 
bors  to  be  of  three  kinds.  "  Where  there  is  timber, 
logs  are  used,  and  good,  substantial  homes  are  the  re- 
sult. In  places  where  no  wood  is  available,  sods 
make  a  wonderfully  neat  and  compact  little  house, 
considering  the  material  from  which  it  is  made.  One 
village,  where  neither  timber  of  any  size  nor  sod  was 
procurable,  had  houses  made  in  a  remarkably  ingeni- 
ous, but  most  laborious,  way.  Poplar  sticks,  five  or 
six  inches  in  diameter,  were  driven  into  the  ground, 
one  foot  apart,  to  form  an  enclosure  thirty  by  twenty 
feet,  and  in  and  out  of  these  supports  willow  withes 
were  tightly  woven  like  baskets.    The  whole  struc- 


PII0T08RAFHED     BY    WILLIAM  BELLOWS. 


Doukhobor  ferries. 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


223 


ture,  when  completed,  was  plastered  inside  and  out 
with  the  clay  mixture,  and,  though  done  entirely  by 
hand,  presented  as  smooth  a  surface  as  if  the  trowel 
of  a  first-class  plasterer  had  been  at  work.  The  clay 
for  the  mortar  was  prepared  by  the  women  in  this 
way:  A  trench  was  dug,  into  which  the  earth  and 
water  and  chopped  grass  were  placed;  then  half  a 
dozen  of  these  stalwart  sisters,  with  their  skirts  kilted 
up,  trod  the  mortar  until  it  was  as  smooth  as  paste, 
while  another  company  of  women  carried  it  to  the 
houses;  here  six  or  eight  more  put  it  on  the  walls  of 
the  dwellings."  "  The  great  ovens  and  chimneys 
of  sun-dried  bricks  are  seen  everywhere,  as  well  as 
the  smooth  floors  of  trodden  sand." 

"  At  one  of  the  many  religious  services  held  (by 
the  Friends)  with  the  Doukhobors,  a  letter  from 
their  exiled  elder  (Peter  Verigin)  was  read,  in  which 
he  exhorted  his  people  to  remain  firm  in  their  belief, 
to  remember  always  their  God  and  their  fathers' 
God,  to  teach  their  children  to  learn  the  Command- 
ments, and  to  read  the  glorious  Psalms  of  David ;  but, 
above  all,  to  remember  to  love  their  brethren.  ^  He 
that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  God  and  God  in 
Him.'  They  must  not  only  love  one  another,  but 
must  love  their  enemies,  ^  doing  good  to  them  that 
would  despitefuUy  use  them  and  persecute  them.'  " 

On  another  occasion  a  letter  was  read,  stating  that 
their  elder,  and  other  members  of  their  Brotherhood, 
in  Siberian  exile,  were  to  be  sent  to  the  sulphur 
mines  in  order  to  hasten  their  death.    The  mother 


224 


THE  EXODUS  FEOM  RUSSIA. 


and  sister  of  Peter  Verigin  were  present  when 
this  was  read,  and  "  the  tearful  pleadings  of 
these  w^omen  that  their  loved  ones  be  not  left  to 
perish  in  prison  were  most  pitiful  to  hear.  Promises* 
were  made  that  the  Tsar  would  be  approached,  and 
the  lives  of  these  noble  men  saved  if  possible,"  and 
Eliza  H.  Yarney  prayed  that  the  Most  High  would 
soften  the  Tsar's  heart  and  release  them. 

Job  S.  Gidley  describes  another  meeting  out  on 
the  open  prairie,  where  the  Doukhobors  had  gathered 
to  meet  with  him  and  Eliza  H.  Varney.  He  said: 
"  One  must  be  void  of  feeling  not  to  be  touched  by 
such  a  scene.  Here  was  a  meeting  for  worship  held 
upon  the  prairie,  under  the  canopy  of  heaven,  where 
the  Dispenser  of  manifold  blessings  seemed  near  at 
hand.  It  brought  to  mind  thoughts  of  the  simple 
way  in  which  the  early  Christians  performed  their 
worship." 

The  situation  of  the  colonists  at  this  time  was  criti- 
cal, because  early  frosts  had  cut  off  the  crops  which 
they  had  planted,  and  without  assistance  they  would 
have  suffered  greatly.  Some  villages  had  scarcely 
any  food  in  hand  or  in  prospect.  Friends  of  Phila- 
delphia took  up  the  case  in  good  earnest  and  held  a 
public  meeting,  when  a  strong  appeal  was  made  by 
the  Committee  of  their  Meeting  for  Sufferings. 


*  Tliese  promises  were  kept  subsequently,  but  no  discharge 
obtained.  It  is  not  kno\A'n  certainly  that  these  exiles  were 
sent  to  the  sulphur  mines. 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


225 


Thirty  thousand  dollars  was  raised  in  a  few  weeks, 
and  three  carloads  of  food  and  clothing  collected. 

The  Friend  of  Tenth  month  14th,  issued  about 
ten  days  after  the  above-named  meeting  was  held, 
contained  a  stirring  editorial,  of  which  the  following 
is  a  part : 

"  The  Doukhobors  having  escaped  from  their 
Pharaoh,  who  had  tardily  heard  the  words,  ^  Let  my 
people  go,'  witnessed  the  sea  opened,  by  the  minis- 
tration of  Friends,  for  their  passage  to  a  strange 
shore,  and  have  been  left  in  the  middle  of  a  vast  con- 
tinent and  of  a  short  summer,  that  could  scarcely 
yield  the  beginning  of  sustenance  for  so  great  a  mul- 
titude. 

"  There  they  stand,  remote  from  other  popula- 
tions, in  a  land  already  stiffening  with  its  six  months' 
freezing;  and  when  presently  two  weeks'  prospect  of 
bread  is  exhausted,  starvation  is  said  to  stare  some 
of  the  villages  in  the  face,  unless  manna  descend 
upon  them  from  heaven  through  our  hands. 

"  Shall  half  of  this  modern  Israel  of  Peace  perish 
during  the  coming  winter  through  indifference  of  the 
Friends  of  Peace  ?  It  is  deemed  by  judicious  minds 
that  such  must  be  the  rate  of  their  perishing,  unless 
we  of  our  superfluity  ^  cast  in  unto  the  offerings  of 
God.'  A  living  opportunity  is  now  laid  at  our  door, 
to  prove  before  all  coming  history,  how  much  our  sin- 
cerity for  the  cause  of  peace  is  worth  in  dollars  and 
cents.   Inasmuch  as  we  obediently  do  it  for  the  will- 


226 


THE  EXODUS  FKOM  RUSSIA. 


ing  martyrs  and  supporters  of  the  cause,  we  do  it 
unto  the  Prince  of  Peace  Himself. 

"  Should  but  a  pound  of  com  meal  per  day  for 
each  Doukhobor  be  furnished,  to  sustain  life  till  an- 
other summer,  it  is  estimated  that  $25,000  would  be 
needed  to  cover  the  cost." 

Friends  responded  nobly  to  this  appeal,  and  pro- 
visions were  promptly  forwarded  to  the  colonists, 
where  they  were  distributed  in  time  to  prevent  them 
from  starving. 

The  Commissioner  of  Immigration,  William  F. 
McCreary,  who  had  shown  great  interest  in  the  Rus- 
sian exiles,  and  sympathy  for  them,  ever  since  their 
arrival  on  Canadian  soil,  now  proved  himself  their 
true  friend,  and  with  marked  ability  dispensed  the 
supplies  placed  at  his  disposal  from  every  quarter. 
His  agent,  James  S.  Crerar,  at  Yorkton,  also  ren- 
dered very  valuable  assistance.  Indeed,  the  attitude 
and  services  of  all  the  Dominion  officials  were  most 
helpful  during  this  period  of  colonization.  A  carload 
of  sugar,  four  cars  of  corn  meal,  and  one  of  rolled 
oats,  with  some  carloads  of  potatoes,  and  one  or  more 
of  onions  (the  latter  purchased  in  Canada),  were  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  fifty-seven  villages  of  the 
several  colonies.  Wool,  yarn,  leather  and  lamps 
were  forwarded  from  Philadelphia,  wath  tea  and  lin- 
seed oil,  of  which  the  Doukhobors  are  very  fond. 
Three  hundred  spinning-wheels  were  also  purchased, 
as  well  as  forty-nine  cows,  and  ten  yoke  of  oxen. 
The  gratitude  expressed,  both  by  men  and  women, 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


227 


when  the  cows  were  allotted,  was  reported  by  Cor- 
nelius Jansen  as  "truly  touching."  A  car  of  sup- 
plies, intended  especially  for  the  sick,  aged  and 
younger  children,  was  particularly  appreciated  by  the 
recipients. 

May  Fitz-Gibbon*  ("  Lally  Bernard''),  of  The 
(Toronto)  Globe,  advocated  very  fully  and  sympathet- 
ically the  cause  of  these  suffering  colonists,  after  she 
had  visited  them  in  their  homes;  and,  as  has  been 
previously  noted,  the  women  of  Eastern  Canada  came 
to  their  rescue,  as  also  their  neighbors  on  the  prairie, 
among  whom  Alfred  Hutchinson  and  his  wife,  with 
Robert  and  Elizabeth  Buchanan,  deserve  special 
mention  for  their  many  services. 

Joseph  S.  Elkinton  and  WilKam  B.  Harvey  visited 
throughout  the  settlements  during  the  Eleventh 
month,  1899,  to  ascertain  their  condition  and  needs, 
and  to  oversee  the  distribution  of  the  supplies  for- 
warded. They  also  accompanied  some  of  the  last 
contingent  of  immigrants  to  their  allotments  on  the 
prairie.  After  their  return  a  very  carefully-pre- 
pared inventory  of  the  possessions  and  vital  statistics 
of  each  village  was  printed  and  circulated. 

John  Ashworth,  of  Manchester,  England,  was 
making  his  first  tour  of  the  Doukhobor  villages  about 
this  time,  and  these  Friends  compared  notes  with 
him.  The  problem  of  transportation  was  perhaps 
the  most  pressing  at  that  time,  as  all  the  goods  de- 

*  "  The  Canadian  Doukhobor  Settlements/*  a  series  of  letters 
by  "Lally  Bernard." — William  Briggs,  Toronto. 


228 


THE  EXODUS  FKOM  RUSSIA. 


livered  at  Yorkton  had  to  be  hauled  from  forty  to 
eighty  miles  in  wagons,  of  which  there  were  com- 
paratively few  available.  It  required  a  team  one 
week  to  make  a  trip  to  and  from  the  Xorth  Colony. 
Most  of  the  Doukhobor  men  were  employed  on  rail- 
roads at  this  time,  as  they  could  save  more  money  at 
this  work  than  in  any  other  way,  at  that  season  of 
the  year. 

The  following  letter  was  handed  to  Joseph  S. 
Elkinton  and  William  B.  Harvey  by  representative 
Doukhobors: 

"  To  the  Friends,  from  their  friends,  the  Doukho- 
bors. God  have  mercy  upon  you  for  your  care, 
love  and  generosity ! 

"  Five  years  ago,  the  Spirit  of  God  inspired  our 
people,  and  we  learned  the  way  of  Truth,  the  way 
which  our  ancestors  followed,  but  we  lost  it.  When 
we  again  tried  to  follow  that  way  of  Truth,  the  peo- 
ple of  different  opinions  began  to  oppress  and  perse- 
cute us,  and  we  were  scattered  like  a  flock  of  sheep 
that  have  lost  their  shepherd.  The  labor  of  our 
hands  was  destroyed,  and  the  fruits  of  our  efforts  of 
many  years  were  taken  away  from  us  and  given  to 
others. 

"  We  were  a  small  flock,  and  the  persecutors  a 
legion;  and  they  laid  their  hands  on  us,  and  we  did 
not  defend  ourselves. 

"  Privations  and  heavy  labor  exhausted  us,  and  we 
died  from  sickness.    Then  God  inspired  you  to  help 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


229 


us,  and  you  (being)  used  to  attend  to  the  voice  of 
God,  came  to  us. 

"  You  clothed  us,  you  dressed  our  wounds,  com- 
forted and  encouraged  us.  Then,  when  you  saw  that 
our  oppressors  did  not  stop  persecuting  us,  you  pro- 
tected us,  and  under  your  protection  we  found  the 
way  out  of  the  land  of  oppression  and  slavery,  to  that 
of  freedom  and  activity.  And  you  continue  to  show 
us  your  brotherly  love,  seeing  no  end  to  the  work 
that  our  Lord  God  inspired  you  with. 

"  You  are  constantly  studying  our  needs,  and  your 
efforts  to  satisfy  our  needs  are  ceaseless.  Now,  what 
shall  we  do,  not  to  seem  ungrateful  ?  How  could  we 
repay  your  generosity,  care  and  love  ?  The  deeds  of 
kindness  cannot  be  repaid  by  men,  but  there  is  a 
Creator,  who  does  not  leave  without  reward  a  single 
cup  offered  to  the  thirsty,  and  He  will  never  leave 
you  unrewarded  for  all  your  goodness,  which  He 
Himself  inspired  you  with. 

"  God  have  mercy  upon  you,  for  your  care,  love 
and  generosity ! 

"  For  the  Doukhobors'  people,  signed, 
"  Vassili  Potapov, 
"  Ivan  Keukov, 
"  Alexander  Bodyansky." 

The  Dominion  National  Council  of  Women  did 
their  part  nobly  at  this  time  of  need.  Early  in  1900 
two  carloads  of  supplies  were  sent  from  Montreal, 
bearing  some  fifty  spinning-wheels,  fifteen  pieces  of 


230 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  EUSSIA. 


heavy  flannel,  twelve  hand-looms,  with  eighty  box 
stoves,  as  also  carving  and  metal-beating  tools,  to  the 
colonists.  The  Friends  of  Philadelphia  supple- 
mented this  shipment  with  two  hundred  spinning- 
wheels,-  $1,600  worth  of  wool,  and  $3,700  worth  of 
garden  and  other  seeds,  all  of  which  were  much  ap- 
preciated. 

A  Russian  lady,  Anna  de  Carousa,  was  so  im- 
pressed with  the  religious  and  moral  qualities  of  the 
Doukhobors  while  in  Cyprus,  where  she  resided,  that 
she  accompanied  them  to  their  Canadian  home,  and 
rendered  invaluable  services  as  interpreter,  and  dis- 
tributor of  the  above  gifts  to  these  Russian  immi- 
grants. In  this  connection,  a  co-laborer  Lally  Ber- 
nard ")  says:  "  The  amount  of  work  that  this  frail 
and  gently-nurtured  woman  performs  for  her  beloved 
Doukhobors,  is  simply  astonishing.  She  is  quite  un- 
accustomed to  a  cold  climate,  and  yet  she  resolutely 
remains  in  a  tiny  frame  hotel  at  Yorkton,  her  pen 
and  offices  as  interpreter  being  ceaselessly  employed 
on  their  behalf."  * 

Frederick  Leonhardt,  a  German,  exiled  from  Rus- 
sia ten  years  since,  was  also  a  very  sympathetic 
helper  in  many  ways.  Coming  from  his  home  in  Da- 
kota to  meet  the  newly-arrived  immigrants,  he  as- 
sisted them  in  locating  their  villages  and  in  planting 
their  crops.  His  services  as  interpreter  for  the 
Friends  and  others  have  been  mentioned  elsewhere. 


*  The  (Toronto)  Globe  of  Second  month  3d,  1900. 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


231 


About  the  first  of  1900  lie  was  commissioned  by  the 
Canadian  government  to  travel  throughout  the 
Doukhobor  villages,  to  ascertain  their  condition  and 
needs  in  all  particulars. 

It  was  only  through  the  united  effort  of  all  inter- 
ested in  the  Doukhobors  that  they  escaped  starvation 
at  this  time.  The  Duck  Lake  Settlement,  in  Sas- 
katchewan, near  Prince  Albert,  had  expended  their 
resources,  although  they  had  considerable  more  with 
which  to  leave  Eussia  than  was  the  case  with  most  of 
their  co-religionists.  They  have  very  seldom  asked 
for  aid,  and  only  the  greatest  need  would  have  com- 
pelled them  now  to  say:  "  Last  autumn  we  prepared 
ourselves  with  two  bags  of  flour  for  each  soul,  but 
just  now  we  have  little  left.  It  is  very  hard  for  us; 
we  have  no  kruppa  (meaning  oats,  barley,  etc.), 
neither  potatoes,  oil  nor  butter.  Our  children  are 
getting  sick,  but  we  have  nothing  to  nourish  them 
with.  We  have  neither  milk  nor  eggs,  nor  can  we 
get  them.  We  have  received  some  sugar  and  wool 
from  our  dear  brothers,  the  Quakers.  May  the  Lord 
bless  them  and  give  them  long  life  in  this  world  for 
their  goodness  to  our  people.  .  .  . 

"  There  are  some  of  us  who  have  nothing  at  all. 
We  have  not  even  got  our  daily  bread.  We  feel  bad 
to  ask  from  other  people,  but  our  great  need  compels 
us  to  stretch  out  our  hand.  So  we  turn  to  you  with 
tears,  if  you  have  any  means  to  help  us,  do  it  as 
quick  as  possible,  for  which  we  will  continually  bless 
you.   This  terrible  persecution  has  made  us  so  poor." 


232 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


Several  hundred  of  the  Doukhobor  men — in  fact, 
all  that  were  able-bodied — sought  work  upon  the  rail- 
roads that  were  then  being  built  in  Canada,  and  the 
testimony  of  one  of  the  railroad  contractors  (Seil 
Keiths)  by  whom  they  were  employed,  is  highly  ap- 
preciative of  their  industry  and  economy  and  kind- 
ness to  all,  including  their  horses.  They  sent  all  their 
earnings  to  their  families  in  the  colonies. 

The  houses,  for  the  most  part  built  and  plastered 
by  the  Doukhobor  women,  afforded  ample  protection 
against  the  cold,  but  the  clay  sides  and  sod  roofs 
scarcely  had  opportunity  to  dry  before  the  winter 
set  in,  and  the  hoar-frost  could  be  seen  standing  out 
upon  the  inside  of  their  walls.  This  was  calculated  to 
induce  rheumatism,  and  many  suffered  therefrom, 
but  the  mortality  was  remarkably  low  considering  all 
the  circumstances. 

Herbert  Archer,  who  came  from  England  to  assist 
in  settling  these  colonists,  lived  through  this  winter 
in  the  North  Colony,  and  did  what  he  could  in  finding 
employment  on  the  railroad  for  the  men,  with  some 
success,  but  he  reported  a  decided  difference  between 
the  progress  of  the  North  Colony  and  that  of  the 
South  Colony,  where  there  was  less  co-operation, 
economy  and  health  among  their  several  village  com- 
munities. Some  of  the  latter  became  so  dissatisfied 
as  to  go  to  California — prospecting  for  a  future  home 
— but  these  came  back  in  the  course  of  a  few  months, 
much  to  the  relief  of  their  best  friends.  About  this 
time  (Second  month  of  1900)  the  Doukhobor  Com- 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT.  233 

mittee  of  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting  sent  an  epistle 
of  encouragement  and  counsel  to  all  of  their  com- 
munities. This  was  met  by  a  hearty  response  on 
their  part,  as  the  following  letter  shows.  It  was 
signed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Korth  Colony,  and  reads:  "  We  had  the  happiness  to 
receive  the  dear  letter  to  us,  sent  by  you,  of  Second 
month  14th  this  year.  We  are  very  much  pleased 
with  your  letter  which  we  received;  for  which  we 
are  heartily  and  feelingly  grateful  to  you  for  your 
instruction,  as  it  is  the  truth.  We  are  thankful  to 
the  good  people  who  have  delivered  us  from  bondage, 
and  brought  us  to  this  country.  We  are  happy,  not 
being  in  fear  of  oppression.  Xot  a  soul  of  the  Xorth- 
ern  Colonies  desires  leaving  the  free  land  of  Canada. 
We  are  praying  unto  God  our  Lord  that  He  may  not 
deprive  us  of  His  heavenly  mercy,  and  send  us  good 
crops  this  coming  year,  to  enable  us,  a  little,  at  least, 
to  gain  strength  and  energy,  and  cease  to  feed  on  the 
toil  of  others.  Of  course  this  depends  on  the  will  of 
God. 

"  We  received  through  the  Committees  of  the 
Southern  Colonies  forty-one  spinning-wheels  for  our 
!N'orthern  District,  as  well  as  other  articles. 

"  May  the  Lord  bless  you  for  all  the  kind  deeds 
you  have  bestowed  upon  us.  We  greet  you  all,  dear 
brothers  and  sisters,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

"  (From)  the  Committee  of  the  I^orthern  Colony 


234 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


of  the  Christian  Society  of  the  Universal  Brother- 
hood, as  well  as  (from)  all  our  brothers  and  sisters. 

"  Simon  Ribun. 

"  Village  Vosnesenie.'^ 

Three  or  four  carloads  of  dried  fruit  were  sent  by 
interested  friends  in  California,  and  some  cows  were 
purchased  and  distributed  where  most  needed,  so  a 
little  variety  was  added  to  their  too  meagre  vegetable 
diet.  Thus  the  scurvy,  which  had  appeared  in  several 
villages,  because  of  insufficient  nourishment,  abated, 
as  also  the  prevalence  of  sore  eyes  and  bad  sores  from 
the  same  cause. 

These  gifts  brought  out  much  expression  on  the 
part  of  the  recipients.  One  poor  man  who  had  been 
in  exile  for  two  years,  and  had  lost  all  his  property, 
^'  and  there,"  as  he  says,  "  got  cold  and  took  severe 
malaria,''  and  through  that  lost  his  health,  writes  to 
Joseph  S.  Elkinton: 

"  Kirilofka,  April  15th. 

"  May  the  Lord  bless  your  great  work  to  us,  your 
brethren  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Peace  and  grace 
be  imto  the  workers  and  followers  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  remembering  the  commandment  of  our  Lord 
before  His  crucifixion.  Our  dear  and  never-to-be- 
forgotten  friends  and  brethren  and  sisters  and  your 
small  children  (some  of  whom  had  contributed  to 
Doukhobor  needs),  we  greet  you  all  with  a  loving 


THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENT. 


235 


heart,  and  with  best  wishes  for  eternal  happiness  in 
the  Heavenly  Kingdom,  seeing  the  Lord  face  to  face. 
May  the  Lord  bless  a  hundred-fold  your  great  benevo- 
lence to  us,  poor,  worn-out  strangers.  Our  love  and 
thankfulness  to  all  kind  benefactors."  Then  (after 
reporting  the  several  articles  of  diet  and  clothing  and 
seeds  which  had  come  to  their  village)  he  continues: 
"  All  this  we  have  divided  to  each  soul  in  our  village 
alike.  For  all  this  we  heartily  thank  you,  and  may 
the  Lord  save  you,  because  you  do  not  leave  us  with- 
out assistance  in  our  need,  and  count  us  as  your 
brethren. 

"  We  pray  and  ask  our  Lord  to  keep  you  in  health, 
and  our  little  children,  with  tears,  send  up  praise  to 
God.  God  hear  our  prayer  and  that  of  our  children, 
and  may  He  provide  for  your  kind  people  in  His 
heavenly  kingdom.  Dear  friends,  we  wish  you  all 
grace  from  our  Lord.  To  all  our  brothers  and  sisters 
from  the  community  of  Ejrilovka. 

"  Your  brother, 

"  Ivan  !N'imanichin." 

The  dear  old  grandmother,  Anastasia  Verigin, 
some  eighty-five  years  of  age,  after  expressing  her 
gratitude  for  the  favors  received,  says:  "From  my 
loved  son,  Peter  Verigin,  I  have  lately  received  a  let- 
ter which  was  very  dear  to  us,  the  first  letter  (from 
our  exiled  brethren)  we  received  in  Canada.  He  is 
alive  and  waiting  the  time  when  the  Lord  will  grant 


236 


THE  EXODUS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


them  liberty.'^  Naming  five  other  sons  in  exile,  she 
adds:  "  Thej  tell  us  they  are  very  lonesome  for  us, 
and  pray  the  Lord  we  may  see  one  another  again  face 
to  face/' 

In  the  Sixth  month  of  1900,  Jonathan  E.  Rhoads, 
of  Philadelphia,  a  minister  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  felt  a  religious  concern  to  visit  the  Doukho- 
bors  in  all  their  communities,  and  he  was  accom- 
panied by  his  friend,  Joseph  S.  ElkintoiL 


Ef)e  Boufetiobors  in  JClussia^ 


CHAPTER  I. 


NATIONAL  EELIGIOUS  CHARACTER. 

Before  entering  upon  the  early  history  of  the 
Doukhobors  it  will  be  helpful  to  take  a  glance  at  the 
national  religious  character,  as  this  both  affords  an 
interesting  field  for  study  and  furnishes  an  explana- 
tion of  much  of  the  superstition,  fanaticism  and  lov- 
able simplicity  of  the  race. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  the  Rus- 
sian Slav  has  been  known  to  be  decidedly  religious, 
by  whatever  form  he  may  have  expressed  his  feeling. 
For  centuries  before  the  introduction  of  Christianity 
he  professed  highly  developed  nature-worship.  His 
supreme  deity  was  represented  by  the  sky.  The  sun, 
the  thunderbolt  and  fire  were  also  regarded  with  awe, 
and  many  minor  deities  had  a  place  in  his  system. 
Without  any  temples  or  ritual,  these  sons  of  the  for- 
est and  of  the  steppe  worshiped  in  the  open,  upon 
some  hill  or  at  a  shrine  made  sacred  to  Perun,  who 
hurled  the  thunderbolt.  No  priest  deluded  or 
robbed  them,  while  the  chief  performed  the  ecclesi- 
astical functions.  Life  after  death  was  provided  for 
by  placing  food  and  weapons  in  the  graves  of  their 
departed  friends. 

The  patriarchal  custom  of  the  father  having  ab- 
solute control  of  the  household,  which  continues  to 
this  day,  did  not  destroy  a  kind-hearted  hospitality  or 
an  intense  individualism. 


240 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IN  EUSSIA. 


In  those  early  days,  as  now,  they  were  mostly  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits,  although  skilled  in 
making  iron  tools  and  weapons.  The  migratory  in- 
stinct w^as  strong  among  them,  and  soon  brought 
them  into  contact  with  the  Finns  on  the  north  and 
the  Tartars  on  the  south  and  east  of  their  country, 
and  this  fusion  with  their  neighbors  gave  them  a 
solidity  of  character,  a  power  of  endurance  and  per- 
severance, which  they  did  not  originally  possess. 

Prince  Vladimir  (980-1015)  introduced  Christi- 
anity, of  the  Greek  form,  to  these  pioneers  of  the 
Greater  Russia  of  to-day,  and  forbade  pagan  worship 
among  his  people.  The  sudden  transition  was  not  ac- 
complished, however,  without  opposition,  and,  as  has 
always  happened  when  a  belief  has  been  forced  upon 
an  unwilling  people,  compromise  became  necessary, 
and  the  attributes  of  some  of  the  pagan  deities  were 
attached  to  the  Christian  saints. 

Tradition  says  that  men,  women  and  children  were 
assembled  on  the  cliffs  at  Kiev  and  compelled  to  \vit- 
ness  the  humiliation  of  their  gods,  which  were  cast 
into  the  Dnieper.  After  this  the  multitudes  were 
commanded  to  descend  into  the  river,  where  they 
were  baptized,  and  transformed  by  the  words  of  the 
priest  and  the  force  of  Greek  ritual  into  Christians. 

The  blending  of  pagan  and  Greek  conceptions  is 
illustrated  in  its  simplicity  and  crudeness,  by  a  Tu- 
ranian prayer,  such  as  the  following:  Look  here. 
O  Nicholas,  god !  Perhaps  my  neighbor,  little 
Michael,  has  been  slandering  me  to  you,  or  perhaps 


NATIOISTAL  RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER. 


241 


he  will  do  so.  Ji  he  does,  don't  believe  him.  I  have 
done  him  no  harm  and  wish  him  none.  He  is  a  worth- 
less boaster  and  a  babbler.  He  does  not  really  honor 
you,  and  merely  plays  the  hypocrite.  But  I  honor 
you  from  my  heart,  and,  behold !  I  place  a  taper  be- 
fore you." 

By  thus  obtaining  their  religious  and  secular  ideas 
from  Constantinople,  the  Russians  cut  off  those  op- 
portunities of  reform  and  enlightenment  which  the 
western  culture  would  have  brought  them  during  the 
period  of  the  Renaissance.  While  this  was  particu- 
larly unfortunate,  it  accounts  for  some  of  their  most 
peculiar  and  interesting  characteristics. 

There  was  something  in  the  Greek  ceremonial  that 
was  fascinating  alike  to  the  Slav,  the  Finn  and  the 
Tartar,  and  even  in  its  perverted  presentation  this 
form  of  Christianity  was  some  improvement  over 
the  paganism  it  supplanted.  It  brought  a  higher  so- 
cial order,  and  elevated  the  domestic  condition  by 
increasing  the  respect  shown  to  women.  The  rights 
of  children  were  also  recognized,  and  slaves  received 
rather  more  generous  treatment  at  the  hands  of  their 
masters. 

One  can  find  in  the  Russian  character,  from  the 
earliest  period,  much  that  might  have  developed  into 
the  highest  type  of  enlightened  Christianity,  and  the 
ever-reviving  protest  against  formality,  to  be  found 
in  every  age  and  among  every  class  of  that  nation,  is 
one  of  the  most  promising  evidences  of  the  possi- 
bility of  casting  off  the  yoke  of  priestly  domination. 


CHAPTER  II. 


TEADITION  AND  EARLY  HISTORY. 

William  Allen,  of  London,  when  visiting  Russia 
with  Stephen  Grellet,  in  1818,  said  the  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  General  Djunkolesky,  gave  them  good 
reason  for  supposing  that  originally  the  Doukhobors 
came  from  the  followers  of  John  Huss.  But  there  is 
so  little  certainty  in  the  very  scant  records  concern- 
ing their  rise,  that  we  prefer  to  believe,  according  to 
their  own  tradition,  that  they  sprang  from  three 
brothers,  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  who,  through  the 
teaching  of  the  Spirit,  and  a  careful  perusal  of  the 
Xew  Testament,  were  led  away  from  the  ceremonies 
of  the  Russian  Church  to  worship  God  in  spirit  and 
in  truth.  "  It  is  quite  useless,  however,"  as  one  of 
their  o^vn  countrymen,  T.  Abramov,  truly  observes, 
to  discuss  the  question  as  to  whether  such  and  such 
a  religious  idea  comes  from  within  a  nation  or  from 
without,  from  the  Quakers  or  from  some  one  else;  as 
when  once  an  idea  begins  to  spread  it  must  undergo 
a  long  and  imperceptible  assimilation  and  reproduc- 
tion in  the  minds  of  the  people  at  large,  and  will 
therefore  undoubtedly  be  looked  upon  as  quite  an 
original  idea,  incorporating  all  the  characteristic  fea- 
tures of  the  people  among  whom  it  has  spread." 

It  would  be  too  distressing,  as  well  as  diflScult,  to 
narrate  the  many  persecutions  of  this  people,  yet 
their  endurance  and  heroic  fortitude  under  all  the 


EARLY  HISTORY. 


243 


adverse  conditions  which  the  Russian  Government 
has  imposed  npon  them  for  more  than  a  century,  can 
best  be  appreciated  by  citing  some  particular  in- 
stances on  record. 

In  1797,  Andrei  Tolstaev  and  his  wife  were  tried 
because  of  their  adherence  to  the  Doukhobor  prin- 
ciples, and  after  being  punished  with  the  knout,  and 
having  their  nostrils  cut  off — (this  inhuman  punish- 
ment was  frequently  inflicted  on  dissenters) — they 
were  sentenced  to  hard  labor  in  the  Government  of 
Irkutsk.  This  was  about  twenty  years  after  the  Cos- 
sacks of  the  Don,  who  had  first  embraced  the  same 
faith,  fell  under  the  ban  of  the  ecclesiastical  law  as 
heretics.  The  renowned  Senator  Lapukhin  wrote, 
in  1806;  "No  sect  has,  up  to  this  time,  been  so 
cruelly  persecuted  as  the  Doukhobortsi,  and  this  is 
certainly  not  because  they  are  the  most  harmful. 
They  have  been  tortured  in  various  ways,  and  whole 
families  have  been  sentenced  to  hard  labor  and  con- 
finement in  the  most  cruel  prisons. 

"  Some  were  confined  in  cells  in  which  one  could 
not  stand  upright,  nor  lie  down  at  full  length.  This 
was  boastingly  told  me  by  one  of  the  officers  at  a 
place  where  they  were  confined. 

"  Every  procurator  and  general,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  governor  of  a  province,  promul- 
gated a  uhase  for  banishing  whole  families  to  various 
places  for  settlement,  or  for  hard  labor;  and  many 
families  were  thus  expelled." 

As  a  sample  of  such  an  edict,  issued  at  the  end  of 


244 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  RUSSIA. 


the  eighteenth  century,  some  thirty-four  Doukho- 
bors,  after  prolonged  sufferings  during  the  investi- 
gation made  by  their  accusers,  received  their  sen- 
tence in  these  words:  "  As  the  same  prisoners  re- 
main inflexible  to  suggestion  and  persuasion,  in  or- 
der to  guard  men  from  like  superstition  in  the  fu- 
ture, and  also  to  retaliate  upon  them  for  their  re- 
nunciation of  the  Church,  her  sacraments  and  saints, 
they  shall  receive,  each  man,  thirty  strokes  of  the 
knout,  and  each  woman  forty  strokes  of  the  lash  pub- 
licly. The  Doukhobor,  Jacob  Laktev's  daughter, 
Katrina,  and  Ivan  Shalayev's  daughter,  I^'astasia,  as 
minors,  are,  in  accordance  with  the  ukase  of  May 
2d,  1765,  to  be  whipped  with  rods.  After  all  these 
criminals  have  been  thus  punished  they  are  to  be 
banished  to  Siberia,  their  goods  are  to  be  confiscated 
and  sold  by  public  auction,  and  the  money  sent  to 
the  treasury  office  in  Perekop,  to  be  entered  to  the 
account  of  public  revenue ;  the  carrying  out  of  which 
sentence  is  to  devolve  upon  the  police  court  of 
Perekop." 

The  higher  criminal  court,  to  which  this  case  came 
up  from  the  district  court,  altered  the  sentence  as 
follows:  "  The  prisoners  convicted  of  Doukhobortsi 
heresy  are  to  be  put  in  irons  without  punishment, 
and  sent  to  work  perpetually  in  the  mines,  at  Eka- 
terinburg, Siberia,  excepting  the  younger  children. 
The  bringing  up  of  the  children  under  ten  years  of 
age  in  the  faith  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  is  to 


EARLY  HISTORY. 


245 


devolve  upon  the  ma;^or  of  the  town  or  of  the  parish, 
together  with  the  priests." 

Some  thirty-one  Doukhobors  from  another  dis- 
trict were  similarly  sentenced  in  1799,  and  in  1800 
a  ukase  reads:  "Everybody  who  shall  be  convicted 
of  belonging  to  the  sect  of  Doukhobortsi  shall  be 
condemned  to  life-long  hard  labor.'' 

Alexander  I.  was,  however,  graciously  disposed  to 
restore  to  them  their  rights,  after  his  minister,  La- 
pukhin,  had  investigated  the  civil  and  other  disabili- 
ties of  this  sorely  persecuted  sect,  and  some  of  them 
came  back  from  the  places  of  their  banishment. 

They  conversed  with  Lapukhin  on  friendly  terms, 
and  he  petitioned  the  Emperor  on  their  behalf  for  a 
place  of  settlement  apart  from  the  Greek  Orthodox 
Russians.  This  was  granted,  with  permission  to  emi- 
grate to  "  The  Milky  Waters ''  in  the  Melitopol  dis- 
trict of  the  Tauris  government  (near  the  Crimea), 
where  each  emigrant  received  about  forty-five  acres 
of  land.  Other  privileges  were  also  granted,  such  as 
exemption  from  taxation,  for  Alexander  seemed 
genuinely  interested  in  their  welfare.  Thus  some 
thousands  eventually  congregated  just  north  of  the 
Crimea  and  remained  there  until  1840.  The  authori- 
ties were  recommended  to  leave  the  Doukhobors  in 
peace  unless  they  displayed  "  an  open  disobedience 
to  the  legal  authority.''  They  were  not  to  be  con- 
victed as  criminals  on  account  of  their  opinions,  and 
the  clergy  were  ordered  to  stay  away  from  them. 

In  1807,  the  Doukhobors  still  in  Siberia  were  ac- 


246 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  EUSSIA. 


cused  of  "  seditious  acts  by  openly  declaring  their 
beliefs/'  so  the  Governor-General  was  ordered  to 
place  the  able-bodied  men  in  military  service.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  about  this  time  (1807)  the  first 
instance  of  refusal  to  bear  arms  on  the  part  of  the 
Doukhobors  engaged  in  the  first  Turkish  War. 
These  men  threw  away  their  arms  in  the  midst  of 
the  fighting,  while  two  Cossacks,  who  refused  to  obey 
the  military  authorities,  were  sentenced  to  death. 
This  sentence  was  afterwards  commuted  to  impris- 
onment for  life. 

In  1809  the  privates  of  the  Kiev  regiment,  who 
were  Doukhobors,  refused  to  receive  ammunition 
and  provisions,  or  to  perform  military  service,  and 
they  were  sent  to  work  in  the  Siberian  factories.  A 
peasant,  Simeon  Matrossov,  given  up  by  his  landlord 
to  military  service,  refused  to  take  the  oath,  and 
would  not  serve  in  the  ranks.  This  was  in  1817,  and 
because  of  his  refusal  to  take  the  oath,  the  minis- 
terial committee  ordered  that  "  Doukhobortsi  should 
be  taken  into  military  service  without  being  com- 
pelled to  swear,''  which  order  was  confirmed  by  the 
Council  of  State  in  1820. 

In  1811  a  petition  was  made  to  the  Czar  by  four 
thousand  Doukhobors,  who  declared  that  because 
they  were  oppressed  everywhere,  and  in  every 
way,"  they  would  be  glad  to  settle  on  the  right  side 
of  the  Danube,  or  on  the  left,  in  territory  "  recently 
acquired  from  the  Ottoman  Porte  ";  but  this  was  not 
allowed. 


EARLY  HISTORY. 


247 


THE  MILKY  WATERS  COLONY. 

Some  details  of  this  colony  may  be  of  interest. 
There  were  nine  villages  in  this  settlement,  situated 
along  the  Eiver  Molotchna  and  its  estuary.  The 
central  village  was  called  Terpenie  (patience).  In  it 
sat  the  parish  assembly.  In  it  too  was  the  orphan 
house.  It  was  a  large  wooden  building,  surrounded 
by  a  park,  containing  fruit  and  forest  trees,  a  brook 
and  two  fountains.  This  house  was  called  "  Zion 
by  the  Doukhobors.  A  few  men  and  women  lived  in 
it.  Some  girls  who  had  become  church  singers,  after 
having  learned  their  psalms  by  heart,  also  lodged 
there. 

The  households  generally  were  in  a  flourishing 
condition,  thanks  to  the  abundance  of  land,  com- 
munal husbandry,  and  the  enterprising  spirit  of  the 
Doukhobors  with  regard  to  agricultural  improve- 
ments. There  were  13,500  acres  of  arable  land  in 
this  tract,  so  that  each  man  had  rather  more  than 
forty-five  acres.  Their  farming  was  all  done  in  com- 
mon, and  the  produce  divided  into  equal  parts.  They 
also  erected  storehouses  for  food  in  case  of  famine. 

Several  industries  were  successfully  introduced, 
such  as  the  manufacture  of  sashes  and  woolen  hats. 
Improvements  in  agriculture  were  adopted  from 
their  Mennonite  neighbors,  while  the  other  Russians 
remained  quite  indifferent  to  such  improvements. 
Many  of  their  houses  were  built  in  German  fashion, 
and  even  the  dress  of  the  German  colonists  was 
adopted  to  some  extent,  while  their  Greek  Orthodox 


248 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


neighbors  continued  to  wear  their  former  worn-out 
"  zeepoon  "  (a  peasant's  coat)  and  "  lapti "  (bast 
shoes). 

As  to  the  moral  side  of  the  life  of  the  Doukhobors 
in  this  community,  there  is  strong  testimony  from 
the  Governor  of  the  district  that  drunkenness  and 
idleness  were  rigidly  prohibited.  "  State  taxes  and 
commercial  obligations  were  punctually  discharged. 
They  were  active,  indefatigable  in  labor  and  indus- 
trious in  agriculture,  and,  being  sober  and  well-liv- 
ing men,  they  were  more  independent  than  others  " 
of  their  countrymen. 

Physically,  the  men  were  mostly  tall  and  the 
women  pretty.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  in  place 
to  comment  upon  the  splendid  physique  of  both  men 
and  women,  who  for  a  century  have  been  able,  with- 
out doctors  or  medicine,  to  keep  healthier  and 
stronger  than  most  other  races,  even  while  under  the 
most  unfavorable  circumstances  for  living  comfort- 
ably. 

In  1808  the  Chamberlain  Zherebtzov  visited  the 
Crimea  to  examine  into  their  condition,  and  he  found 
them  well  settled  on  their  land,  with  sufficient  live 
stock,  and  leading  a  sober  and  industrious  life,  and  so 
far  from  complaining,  they  only  expressed  their 
gratitude  to  the  government  for  the  quietness  they 
enjoyed." 

The  Emperor  Alexander  I.  himself  passed  through 
this  settlement  in  1818,  and  was  so  pleased  with  their 
prosperity  that  he  "  ordered  the  prompt  return  to 


EARLY  HISTORY. 


249 


their  native  land  of  all  the  banished  Doukhobortsi, 
for  whom  their  co-religionists  had  petitioned/* 
"  But,"  continues  the  same  historian,  "  even  the  per- 
sonal patronage  of  Alexander  I.  could  not  alter  the 
behavior  of  the  second  and  lower  class  members  of 
the  administration  and  clergy,  who,  partly  from  sel- 
fishness, partly  from  ignorance,  have  always  op- 
pressed by  every  means  in  their  power,  these  peace- 
able and  industrious  sectarians." 

Their  pretext  for  these  persecutions  was  the  fact 
that  the  "  Doukhobortsi  converted  Greek  Orthodox 
men  to  their  sect."  It  is  uncertain  whether  the 
Doukhobortsi  "  converted  "  or  the  Greek  Orthodox 
were  carried  away  by  the  example  of  their  moral  life, 
and  by  an  appreciation  of  the  value  of  community  life 
as  developed  in  their  villages.  The  latter  supposition 
is  the  more  probable,  because,  as  is  generally  known, 
the  great  mass  of  the  proselytes  of  any  new  teaching 
always  adopt  it  without  propaganda,  solely  in  conse- 
quence of  the  moral  influence  and  purer  life  of  the 
followers  of  the  new  teaching.  And  besides,  as  we 
shall  see  later  on,  upon  investigations  being  insti- 
tuted, no  Doukhobor  propaganda  was  discovered.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  the  officials  and  clergy,  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  fact  that  the  beliefs  of  the  Doukhobors 
were  spreading  among  the  Greek  Orthodox  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Milky  Waters,  committed  the  most 
cruel  acts  of  violence  with  impunity.  ^N^or  were 
these  so-called  zealots  of  Greek  Orthodoxy  particu- 
lar as  to  the  means  they  employed,  making  use  of  the 


250 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  I^'  RUSSIA. 


men  who  had  been  expelled  from  the  Doukhobor 
community  for  theft,  drunkenness  and  profligacy. 
This  practice  is  now  common  in  relation  to  other 
sects  also,  as  the  Stundists,  Molokans  and  others.  In 
consequence  of  the  evidence  of  these  notoriously  im- 
moral men,  they  made  "  incursions  into  the  villages 
of  the  Doukhobortsi,  arrested  the  first  men  they  met, 
and  kept  them  imprisoned  for  years.'' 

There  is  a  chapter  of  considerable  interest,  ex- 
plaining the  friendship  betw^een  Alexander  I.  and  the 
Society  of  Friends,  pleasantly  told  by  Jane  Benson, 
in  her  "  Quaker  Pioneers  in  Russia."  We  may  per- 
haps discern  strong  indications  of  Quaker  influence 
in  this  emperor's  enlightened  treatment  of  his  Douk- 
hobor subjects. 

In  the  spring  of  1814  the  Emperor  visited  Lon- 
don, and  attended  a  Friends'  meeting  for  worship. 
William  Allen,  as  a  representative  of  that  Society, 
had  been  summoned  to  meet  the  Royal  party  on  a 
First-day  morning,  and  was  informed  that  the  Em- 
peror wished  to  see  a  Quaker  meeting.  As  the  hour 
was  already  past  when  they  usually  assembled,  Wil- 
liam Allen  said,  "  Then  it  is  quite  plain  we  must  go 
to  the  nearest,  which  is  Westminster,  and  lose  no 
time,  otherwise  it  may  be  broken  up." 

The  Emperor,  the  young  duke  of  Oldenburg,  the 
Ambassador,  the  King  of  Wurtemburg,  and  Count 
Lieven,  were  seated  facing  the  assembly,  "  and  the 


EARLY  HISTOSY. 


251 


whole  party  conducted  themselves  with  the  greatest 
seriousness." 

They  sat  in  silence  for  fifteen  minutes,  and  then 
three  "  testimonies  were  delivered  by  the  Friends, 
one  of  which  made  such  an  impression  upon  the  Em- 
peror that  he  desired  to  see  John  Wilkinson,  one  of 
the  speakers,  and  William  Allen,  in  a  private  inter- 
view next  day.  Stephen  Grellet,  a  Philadelphia 
Friend,  was  also  present,  and  reported  a  very  pleas- 
ant hour's  informal  conversation,  which  he  "  thought 
had  been  appreciated  by  them  all." 

The  questions  the  Emperor  asked  referred  gen- 
erally to  the  realities  of  every-day  life.  He  liked 
our  principles,  he  said,  so  far  as  he  had  heard  them, 
but  he  had  the  wisdom  to  recognize  the  great  dis^ 
tance  that  often  exists  between  preaching  and  prac- 
tice. He  liked  the  meeting  he  had  attended,  and  now 
he  wanted  to  visit  a  Friend's  house. 

Subsequently,  as  he  was  about  to  leave  England, 
two  Friends,  Nathaniel  Eickman  and  his  wife,  were 
seen  standing  at  the  door  of  their  home  at  a  little 
distance  from  the  road.  The  Emperor  stopped  his 
carriage,  got  out,  and  courteously  inquired  of  them  if 
they  belonged  to  the  people  commonly  called 
Quakers. 

On  receiving  a  reply  in  the  affirmative  he  next 
asked  leave  for  himself  and  sister  to  enter  the  house, 
which,  of  course,  was  granted.  They  stayed  some 
time,  looking  over  it,  taking  refreshment,  and  telling 
their  host  and  hostess,  to  whom  it  was  news,  of  their 


252 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


attending  a  meeting,  and  of  their  interviews  with, 
members  of  the  Society,  in  London.  Here  his  favor- 
able opinion  of  Friends  was  confirmed.  The  farm 
and  house  were  well  cared  for  and  orderly,  and  he 
did  not  forget  his  impressions  when  the  time  came 
for  making  use  of  them. 

Three  years  later  (1817)  Alexander  I.  sent  to  Eng- 
land for  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  to  come 
to  Kussia  to  cultivate  certain  bog  lands  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  St.  Petersburg. 

The  information  was  spread  throughout  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Society,  and  a  prompt  response  came  from 
Sheffield.  Daniel  Wheeler,  a  convinced  Friend  and 
acceptable  minister  among  them,  told  his  fellow- 
members  that  he  had  felt  for  some  time  previously 
that  it  would  be  right  for  him  to  go  to  Russia. 

His  friends  could  only  regretfully  confess  that  he 
was  especially  qualified  for  the  position  to  be  filled, 
and  pass  on  his  offer,  which  was  gladly  accepted  by 
the  Emperor. 

He  had  had  considerable  experience  in  farming, 
and  had  remarkable  success  in  the  difficult  task  which 
he  now  undertook  of  redeeming  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses the  spongy  morass,  covered  with  a  white  moss 
to  the  depth,  on  an  average,  of  about  sixteen  inches, 
with  cowberry  and  other  bog  plants,  small  shrubs 
and  young  fir  trees,"  with  the  roots  and  trunks  of  a 
primeval  forest  imdemeath  all. 

There  he  labored  for  fifteen  years,  preaching  by 
the  example  of  a  holy  and  industrious  life,  and  occa- 


EARLY  HISTORY. 


253 


sionally  visited  by  the  Emperor,  with  whom  he  had 
the  most  cordial  relations. 

The  visit  of  Stephen  Grellet  and  William  Allen, 
in  1819,  to  the  Doukhobors,  then  residing  in  or  near 
the  Crimean  colony,  was  a  notable  event,  still  remem- 
bered by  Ivan  Mahortov  (the  patriarch  of  the  Cana- 
dian colonists),  and  related  by  him  to  recent  visitors, 
after  the  lapse  of  eighty  years,  and  after  much  of  the 
following  prophecy  had  been  fulfilled.  Stephen  Grel- 
let told  them  that  if  they  were  faithful  to  their  re- 
ligious convictions  they  would  be  exiled  and  finally 
banished  from  their  native  land  after  they  had  been 
robbed,  imprisoned  and  sorely  persecuted,  in  some 
instances  even  unto  death,  and  that  when  they  were 
settled  in  that  foreign  country,  among  a  people  of  a 
different  language,  they  would  be  visited  by  mem- 
bers of  his  Society,  and  then  they  would  prosper. 

As  Stephen  Grellet's  Journal  contains  an  import- 
ant passage  in  reference  to  these  dissenters  from  the 
Orthodox  Greek  Church,  which  has  led  some  to 
query  whether  they  were  Orthodox  Christians,  it 
might  be  well  to  say  once  for  all,  that  they  revolted 
against  the  icon-worship  of  the  Russian  Church 
so  radically  as  to  place  the  emphasis  of  their  belief 
upon  the  Spirit,  as  their  infallible  guide.  An  infalli- 
ble Church,  an  infallible  Book,  or  an  infallible 
Spirit,  represent  the  bases  of  Christian  belief,  and 
professing  Christendom  still  gives  abundant  evidence 
of  the  untenable  positions  which  the  first  two  assume. 


254 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  RUSSIA. 


It  is  indeed  strange  that  so  good  and  spiritual  a 
man  as  Stephen  Grellet  did  not  perceive  that  the 
Doukhobors  were  only  stating  their  foundation 
principle,  when  thev  gave  the  pre-eminence  to  the 
Spirit  of  Truth,  rather  than  to  the  outward  author- 
ity of  the  Scriptures  (invaluable  as  these  are).  In 
like  manner  they  put  the  emphasis  upon  the  indwell- 
ing Spirit  of  Christ  rather  than  upon  His  historical 
appearance,  important  as  this  was  and  is  to  our  sal- 
vation. They  do  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  as  tke 
Saviour  of  men.  This  was  the  confession  of  their 
elders  since  coming  to  America,  and  so  far  as  they 
are  able  to  read  they  value  the  Bible.  How  other- 
wise can  we  account  for  their  memorizing  so  much 
of  the  Scriptures,  which  has  gone  on  for  generations  ? 
Stephen  Grellet  himself  says:  "  They  said  they  met 
together  to  sing  the  Psalms  of  David."  He  also 
gives  a  graphic  account  of  their  mode  of  worship, 
which  is  retained  to  this  day:  On  a  spacious  spot  of 
ground  out  of  doors,  they  all  stood,  forming  a  large 
circle;  all  the  men  on  the  left  hand  of  the  old  man 
(about  ninety  years  of  age  and  ^  a  chief  '  among 
them),  and  the  women  on  his  right.  The  children  of 
both  sexes  formed  the  opposite  side  of  the  circle. 
They  were  all  cleanly  dressed.  An  old  woman  was 
next  to  the  old  man.  She  began  by  singing  what 
they  called  a  Psalm  (these  are  partly  from  the  Scrip- 
tures of  the  Old  and  Xew  Testaments  and  partly 
their  own  composition).  The  other  women 
joined  in  it.     Then  the  man  next  to  the  old 


EARLY  HISTORY. 


255 


man,  taking  his  hand,  stepped  in  front  of 
him;  each  bowed  down  very  low  to  the 
other  three  times,  and  then  twice  to  the  woman, 
who  returned  the  salute.  That  man  resum- 
ing his  place,  the  one  next  to  him  performed  the 
same  ceremony  to  the  old  man  and  to  the  woman. 
Then  by  turns  all  the  others,  even  the  boys,  came 
and  kissed  three  times,  the  one  in  the  circle  above 
him,  instead  of  bowing.  When  the  men  and  boys 
had  accomplished  this,  the  women  did  the  same  to 
each  other;  then  the  girls,  the  singing  continuing 
the  whole  time.  It  took  them  nearly  an  hour  to  per- 
form this  round  of  bowing  and  kissing.  Then  the  old 
woman,  in  a  fluent  manner,  uttered  what  they  called 
a  prayer,  and  their  worship  ended." 

All  this  ceremony  evidently  did  not  appeal  to 
Stephen  Grellet,  for  he  says:  "  ]^o  seriousness  ap- 
peared over  them  at  any  time  ;  whereas  the  sol- 
emnity and  sincerity  of  their  worship,  as  witnessed 
by  those  Friends  who  have  visited  them  in  Canada, 
has  been  very  impressive,  although  the  ceremony  is 
somewhat  tedious.  We  may  hope  that  if  they  leave 
off  some  of  their  ceremoniousness  they  will  lose 
nothing  of  their  fervency  of  spirit.  Their  custom  of 
bowing  is  an  expression  of  reverence  for  the  Divine 
^^^ature  or  Spirit  in  man.  However  much  this  sect — 
in  common  with  most  others  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  old — has  lapsed  at  times  from  its  primitive 
spirituality,  the  fires  of  persecution  have  eventually 
in  good  measure  purified  its  membership.  That 


256 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  RUSSIA. 


a  people  with  so  few  outward  advantages  should  re- 
tain so  large  a  portion  of  their  original  simplicity  of 
character  and  beautiful  devotion  to  high  spiritual 
conceptions,  based  upon  the  love  of  God,  is  a  most 
hopeful  sign  of  the  possibilities  of  the  coming  of  His 
Idngdom  of  peace  and  righteousness  on  the  earth. 

THE  CAUCASIAN  EXILE. 

The  story  of  Evangeline  and  her  exiled  country- 
men was  re-enacted  in  the  removal  of  this  thrifty 
and  devout  people  from  their  homes  on  the  "  Milky 
Waters    to  the  Caucasus. 

In  1819  the  Ministerial  Committee  decided  that 
Doukhobortsi  and  Molokani  should  not  be  elected 
to  public  offices,  while  those  already  elected  should 
be  dismissed";  with  a  heavy  tax  imposed  upon  the 
whole  community  for  their  release  from  such  ser- 
vice. Two  years  later  we  find  a  Caucasian  chief,  who 
had  some  2,500  Doukhobors  in  his  district,  advising 
the  Central  Government  that  all  their  families  be 
dispersed  among  the  Russian  villages,  and  that  chil- 
dren be  separated  from  their  parents,  that  thus  the 
exhortations  and  example  of  the  clergymen  might 
influence  them  to  embrace  the  Orthodox  religion." 
This  was  literally  carried  out  in  that  very  locality 
seventy-five  years  aftenvard,  and  even  Prince  Hil- 
kov's  children  were  violently  taken  from  him  within 
the  last  decade  and  placed  with  members  of  the  Rus- 
sian Church.  The  Stundists  also  suffered  from  the 
same  cruel  separations  at  this  time. 


EARLY  HISTORY. 


257 


There  was  evidently  a  determination  on  the  part 
of  those  in  authority  to  dispossess  the  Crimean  Col- 
ony, and  transplant  them  with  all  their  co-religion- 
ists to  the  Caucasus,  for  the  chairman  of  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  State  Council  (Pashkov)  complained 
in  1824  that  "  the  Doukhobortsi  are  striving  to  de- 
stroy everything  on  earth  that  is  dear  to  a  true  son 
of  the  Church,  the  throne  and  the  fatherland,"  and 
he  suggested  dispersing  all  of  the  "  obnoxious  sect 
throughout  the  Caucasus.  This  ministerial  decision 
was  confirmed  by  Nicholas  L,  in  1826,  and  literally 
carried  out  fifteen  years  later.  The  Cossacks  of  the 
Don  who  had  embraced  the  faith  were  the  first  to  be 
transported  to  that  inhospitable  region,  where  they 
were  brought  into  close  contact  with  the  fiercest 
hillsmen,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  compelling  them 
to  defend  themselves,  their  property  and  families, 
by  force,  and  so  voluntarily  to  deny  their  ovm  teach- 
ing. Besides  this  they  were  obliged  to  bear  the  name 
and  duties  of  Cossacks,  and  to  live  along  the  line  of 
the  frontier  fortresses. 

While  these  followers  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  were 
being  put  to  the  test  under  such  trying  conditions, 
their  brethren  in  and  near  the  Crimea  were  forbid- 
den to  leave  their  villages  under  any  pretense,  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  police,  and  hence  they  could 
not  market  their  produce  as  had  previously  been 
their  custom.  Thus  they  became  wholly  dependent 
upon  the  Greek  Orthodox  middlemen,  who  took 
every  advantage  of  them. 


258 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


In  1826  the  Minister  Lanskoi  proposed  that  these 
and  similar  sectarians  should  be  sent  to  Western  Si- 
beria, while  the  propagators  of  heresy  should  be  ex- 
iled to  the  eastern  side  of  that  vast  domain.  This  was 
inflicted,  however,  upon  only  such  men  as  were  un- 
able for  active  military  service  in  the  Caucasian 
corps,  and  these  soldiers  were  to  remain  in  the  army 
until  death.  They  got  neither  furlough  nor  leave  to 
retire,  unless  they  embraced  Orthodoxy,  in  which 
case  they  received  many  privileges.  These  severe 
measures  only  strengthened  the  resolution  of  the 
faithful,  and  the  Government  was  practically  de- 
feated in  its  own  purpose. 

In  the  course  of  a  decade  another  move  was  made 
to  extinguish  this  ever-increasing  sect.  They  were 
forbidden  to  profess  their  religion  publicly.  Their 
assemblies  were  then  prohibited,  and,  until  they  left 
their  fatherland,  they  continued  to  be  dispersed  vio- 
lently at  any  time,  either  by  the  police  or  clergy, 
while  those  arrested  at  such  times  were  confined  in 
"  places  of  the  bug  "  (untidy  rooms  where  prisoners 
are  kept),  or  in  cold  village  cells  that  are  never 
heated. 

How  similar  these  actions  seem  to  those  we  read 
of  in  England  during  the  seventeenth  century,  when 
Friends,  with  other  dissenters,  were  carried  off  to 
prison,  w^here  many  of  them  died,  for  no  other  of- 
fense than  having  declared  the  Truth,"  as  it  ap- 
peared to  them. 

To  those  who  have  studied  the  history  of  persecu- 


EARLY  HISTORY. 


259 


tion  in  the  Christian  Church,  whether  inflicted  by 
non-Christians  or  by  their  fellow  believers,  one  of 
two  results  has  invariably  followed,  from  the  days  of 
l^ero  to  the  present  time:  either  men  welcome  mar- 
tyrdom or  regard  heresy  as  a  virtue,  while  yielding- 
passive  submission  to  their  oppressors.  Thus  we  find 
many  of  these  Russian  sectarians  irritated  until  they 
had  an  almost  fanatical  desire  to  "  suffer  for  the 
faith,"  while  others  so  far  complied  with  the  requisi- 
tions of  the  State  Church  as  to  be  registered  "  Ortho- 
dox,'' though  secretly  adhering  to  their  heretical 
opinions.  Happy  will  be  the  day  and  the  people 
when  true  toleration  shall  prevail  in  any  community, 
as  William  Penn  designed  it  should,  in  that  set- 
tlement which  he  so  aptly  called  his  "  holy  experi- 
ment," on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  Count  Tolstoi 
has  been  writing  for  years,  and  in  every  way  endeav- 
oring to  inculcate  liberty  of  conscience  and  toleration 
alike  in  State  and  Church.  His  work  thus  far  has 
apparently  resulted  only  in  his  own  excommunica- 
tion. The  Russian  Government  still  endeavors  to 
coerce  its  subjects  into  adopting  the  unscientific  and 
un-Christian  conceptions  of  a  semi-barbarous  civiliza- 
tion and  mediaeval  theology. 

In  1835  passports  were  forbidden  to  the  wives  of 
those  Doukhobors  and  other  dissenters  who  were 
taken  for  military  service  in  the  Caucasus,  the  ob- 
ject being  to  prevent  them  from  communicating  with 
their  Orthodox  neighbors,  and  so  propagating  their 
errors.    The  same  year  all  such  "  specially  per- 


260 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  RUSSIA. 


nicious "  sects  as  the  Spirit  "Wrestlers  were  pro- 
hibited from  joining  any  town  commnnity  in  Russia, 
except  in  Transcaucasia.  This  was  a  great  depriva- 
tion, as  citizens  registered  in  towns  or  cities  have 
many  more  privileges  in  that  country  than  those  who 
are  registered  only  as  peasants  or  village  residents. 

However,  these  restrictive  and  oppressive  measures 
were  insignificant  in  comparison  with  a  ukase  issued 
about  the  same  time,  whereby  those  sectarians  who 
had  been  transported  to  Transcaucasia  were  forbid- 
den to  return  to  Central  Russia.  This  uTcase  also 
confined  the  Doukhobors  to  seven  Caucasian  towns, 
without  the  opportunity  of  visiting  their  fellow 
exiles  elsewhere,  even  in  the  same  territory,  unless 
they  carried  a  passport  defining  minutely  the  object 
of  their  visit.  But  all  these  hindrances  did  not  pre- 
vent them  from  prospering  in  a  material  way,  so 
they  literally  turned  the  wilderness  into  a  garden, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  became  again  com- 
paratively comfortable. 

An  imperial  decree  went  forth  in  1836  that  all 
the  Doukhobortsi  settled  in  Siberia  were,  in  the 
event  of  their  spreading  their  beliefs,  to  be  removed 
to  a  remote  part  of  that  coimtry,  and  those  con- 
demned to  hard  labor  were  to  be  sent  to  the  mines 
at  Is'erchinsk,"  having  their  terms  lengthened.  A 
year  later  their  brethren  who  were  sentenced  to 
military  service  in  the  Caucasus  were  ordered  to  be 
sent  to  the  regiments  quartered  in  Siberia,  and  those 
unfit  for  service  to  be  settled  there. 


EARLY  HISTORY. 


261 


In  1839  a  new  measure,  specially  designed  to  im- 
poverish the  Doukhobors  and  Molokans,  was  passed, 
by  which  it  was  illegal  for  them  to  acquire  property 
in  land,  situated  more  than  thirty  versts  from  their 
place  of  residence.  But  this  was  a  slight  affliction 
compared  to  the  decision  by  the  Government  to 
transport  the  whole  population  settled  on  the  Milky 
Waters  in  the  Melitopol  district,  just  north  of  the 
Crimea,  to  the  cold  and  inhospitable  mountains  of 
the  Caucasus. 

Whatever  could  have  induced  Nicholas  I.  to  au- 
thorize so  heartless  a  treatment  of  ten  or  twelve 
thousand  of  his  most  inoffensive,  moral  and  indus- 
trious subjects,  is  beyond  conception,  or  at  least  be- 
yond satisfactory  explanation.  But  the  facts  are 
these,  as  related  by  Madame  Filiberte,*  who  ob- 
tained her  information  from  old  inhabitants  of  Me- 
litopol. A  police  officer,  whose  extortions  became  in- 
tolerable to  the  Doukhobors,  was  objected  to  at  last 
by  them,  and  he  forthwith  brought  to  the  Central 
Government  a  charge  against  the  whole  community. 
"  The  irritated  official  used  every  means  in  his  power 
to  blacken  the  character  of  his  victims  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Governor-General,  Prince  Yorontzov,  accus- 
ing them  of  various  crimes  of  which  they  were,  ac- 
cording to  the  evidence  of  reliable  men,  quite  inno- 


*  This  was  WTitten  in  1870,  when  this  deportation  and  dev- 
astation of  1843-'45  was  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  those 
who  witnessed  it,  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  before. 


262  THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  EUSSIA. 


cent.  The  result  was  the  expulsion  of  the  entire 
population  from  their  homes  to  a  far-away  land." 

The  Imperial  order,  signed  in  1839,  reads:  ''All 
the  Doukhobortsi  shall  be  removed  from  Molotchna 
Voda  (The  Milky  Waters)  to  the  Transcaucasian 
Provinces."  This  edict  was  announced  to  them  by 
the  Governor-General,  and  the  deportation  began  at 
once,  and  lasted  through  four  years.  The  account  of 
their  removal  is  thus  vividly  portrayed  by  T.  Abra- 
mov:  ''It  was  a  depressing  picture — the  expul- 
sion of  the  Doukhobortsi  from  their  homes.  The 
whole  property,  acquired  by  long  years  of  toil,  was 
sold  for  almost  nothing,  the  houses  abandoned,  the 
fields  given  up. 

"  On  parting  from  the  land,  which  for  so 
many  years  had  fed  them,  the  Doukhobortsi  women 
kneeled  and  pressed  to  her  their  breasts;  they  kissed 
her,  and,  sobbing,  stretched  their  hands  to  heaven 
and  sang  mournful  psalms.  But  the  earth,  to  which 
they  pressed  their  breasts,  and  the  men,  who  should 
have  heard  them,  all  remained  deaf  to  their  sorrow." 

This  people,  who  but  a  year  ago  were  wealthy, 
were  now  removed  to  the  Persian  frontier,  where 
they  were  continually  subjected  to  robbery  at  the 
hands  of  the  Tartars. 

The  Government  tried  to  win  over  the  emigrants 
by  allowing  all  who  were  ready  to  join  the  Orthodox 
Church  to  remain  in  their  old  homes.  Only  twenty- 
seven  out  of  twelve  thousand  agreed  to  these  condi- 
tions.   "  Banished  to  a  strange  land,  where  the  soil. 


EARLY  HISTOKY. 


263 


climate  and  conditions  of  life  were  quite  new  and 
unknown  to  them,  surrounded  by  hostile  mountain 
tribes,  and  precluded,  by  their  religious  principles, 
from  using  arms  even  in  self-defense,  the  Doukho- 
bortsi  seemed  condemned  to  perish  without  leaving 
a  remnant.  But  such  is  the  strength  of  their  com- 
munal principle,  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  life  of 
this  community,  that  in  spite  of  continual  suffering 
from  invasion,  change  of  climate  and  fevers,  they  at 
last  succeeded,  not  only  in  adapting  themselves  to 
local  conditions,  but  even  in  reviving  the  trade  of 
the  province  and  becoming  the  most  prosperous  sec- 
tion of  the  Transcaucasian  population." 

The  moral  influence  of  the  Doukhobors  was  so 
generally  recognized  throughout  the  Caucasus,  that 
their  absence  came  to  be  regretted  by  the  Govern- 
ment itself.  After  the  last  Russo-Turkish  war  the 
Government  actually  solicited  them  to  move  into  the 
newly-acquired  district  of  Kars,  to  civilize  the  Mo- 
hammedans. These  new^  Mohammedan  neighbors 
soon  made  friends  with  them,  concluding  that  they 
were  not  Christians,  for,  said  they,  "  the  Christians 
always  fight.'' 

Such  is,''  says  Abramov,  "  the  bitter  irony  of 
history  upon  the  oppressive  measures  directed  against 
the  Doukhobortsi."  And  these  persecutions,"  says 
Count  Tolstoi,  "  as  is  always  the  case,  when  they  are 
endured  with  the  Christian  meekness  shown  by  the 
Doukhobortsi,  produce  a  result  the  very  opposite  of 
that  intended  by  the  persecutors. 


264 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  RUSSIA. 


"  People  wish  to  hide  the  fire  which  has  appeared 
in  the  forest,  and  to  extinguish  it;  they  press  it  to 
the  earth  with  whatever  comes  to  hand — leaves, 
grass  and  wood — but  the  flame  bums  more  and  more 
fiercely,  and  its  light  spreads  farther  and  farther." 


CHAPTER  m. 


THE  FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBOES. 

Ajlmer  Maude,  in  his  interesting  chapter  (in 
"Tolstoi  and  His  Problems")  on  this  long-persecuted 
people,  sajs,  very  truly,  "  A  turning-point  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Doukhobors  was  reached  in  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  members 
of  the  sect,  scattered  over  the  length  and  breadth  of 
Russia,  were  allowed  to  come  together  and  form  one 
community  [on  the  Milky  Waters  of  the  Crimea]. 
From  being  a  religious  sect,  held  together  by  unity 
of  opinions  and  beliefs,  anxious  to  propagate  those 
views  among  their  neighbors,  and  obliged  to  adjust 
their  lives  and  occupations  to  a  diversity  of  circum- 
stances and  local  conditions,  the  Doukhobors  became 
an  industrial  and  economic  community,  no  longer 
persecuted  for  their  theoretical  beliefs. 

"  When  a  sect  thus  becomes  a  community,  the  in- 
terest shifts  to  a  considerable  extent  from  the  ques- 
tion. What  did  they  believe  ?  to  the  question,  How 
did  they  live  ?  They  cease  to  be  propagandists,  and 
become  engaged  in  the  weKare  of  their  own  commun- 
ity and  the  maintenance  of  their  own  religion.  Their 
opinions  seem  to  have  undergone  little  change  during 
the  remainder  of  the  century,  so  that  a  statement  of 
what  they  believed  a  hundred  years  ago  may  pass, 
almost  unmodified,  for  a  statement  of  what  most  of 
them  believe  to-day. 


266 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


Then,  as  now,  different  individuals  and  different 
groups  would  express  themselves  variously,  yet  al- 
most all  would  show  a  united  front  on  matters  on 
which  they  differed  from  the  Orthodox  Russian 
Church. 

"  The  difficulty  of  describing  the  faith  of  a  sect 
composed  of  illiterate  peasants,  who  produced  no 
books,  and  whose  propaganda  was  carried  on  by  word 
of  mouth,  and  for  the  most  part  secretly,  would  be 
very  great  but  for  Orest  Xovitsky's  book  (first  pub- 
lished in  1832),  and  certain  State  documents  on  file 
at  St.  Petersburg,  to  which  we  have  had  access.  As 
these  papers,  found  among  the  archives  of  the  em- 
pire, contain  some  clear  typical  statements  of  belief, 
at  first  hand,  they  are  introduced  here  as  the  oldest 
and  most  reliable  known  to  the  present  writer.  It  is 
gratifying  also  to  find  the  appreciation  which  the 
Doukhobors  express  in  their  letter  to  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  for  the  Bibles  supplied  to  them 
in  1815,  and  to  know  that  the  opinion  formed  by  the 
Society's  worthy  agent,  Robert  Pinkerton,  who  vis- 
ited some  of  them  in  that  year,  agrees  so  well  with 
their  character  seventy-five  years  later." 

The  account  of  his  visit  is  here  subjoined: 

"  We  went  forty  miles  to  the  north  of  Wiborg  to 
see  a  famous  waterfall,  and  then  fell  in  with  a  colony 
of  Doukhobortsi,  from  the  Cossack  country,  consist- 
ing of  about  ninety  persons.  From  all  we  could  learn 
concerning  them  they  are  truly  a  pious,  intelligent 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBORS. 


267 


people,  well  reported  by  all  around  them.  We  had 
a  long  conversation  with  one  of  them,  who  himself 
could  not  read,  but  who  has  a  more  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Scriptures  than  many  I  have  met  with. 
He  answered  all  our  questions  in  the  language  of 
Scripture,  and  explained  some  texts  to  us  in  a  manner 
which  would  have  done  honor  to  an  Oxford  or  Cam- 
bridge divine.  These  poor,  forgotten  people  had  not 
a  Bible  among  them — (their  persecutors  had  taken 
these  away  from  them) — nor  indeed  a  book  of  any 
kind,  although  some  of  them  could  read.  We  fur- 
nished them  with  some  [Bibles].  I  most  heartily 
wish  you  had  seen  how  his  countenance  brightened 
when  we  told  him  of  the  Bible  Society  and  what  has 
been  done  for  the  extended  promotion  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom.  He  could  not  believe  for  joy  and 
wonder.  ^  'No  person,'  said  he,  ^  has  ever  told  us  of 
these  things  before.'  " 

After  Robert  Pinkerton's  visit,  the  following  letter 
from  some  of  the  Doukhobors  was  addressed  to  the 
Bible  Society: 

"  We,  the  undernamed,  make  known  that  we  have 
received  the  most  precious  and  divine  gift  of  seven 
copies  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  from  the  Bible  Society, 
according  to  our  desire.  We  account  it  our  duty  to 
return  thanks  to  God  for  His  unsearchable  mercy 
and  condescension  to  us  in  having  put  it  into  the 
hearts  of  the  members  of  the  Society  thus  to 
strengthen  mankind  against  sin.    We  present  our 


268 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


ardent  petition  to  the  Society,  that  they  would  unite 
with  us  in  thanksgiving  to  the  Almighty  God,  who 
has  bestowed  upon  them  the  spirit  of  Light  and  Wis- 
dom and  Grace,  to  lead  us  by  the  right  knowledge 
of  Himself,  from  the  path  of  ignorance  into  the  way 
of  truth  and  salvation.  We  offer  up  our  prayers  in 
union  with  you  for  the  life  of  our  great  monarch, 
Alexander,  and  for  his  brethren  and  the  allies.  May 
they  who  love  his  life  live  as  pillars  of  the  world,  and 
may  their  days  be  as  the  days  of  heaven,  because  they 
are  called  to  do  the  work  of  God.  May  the  Lord 
of  Hosts  help  them,  and  preserve  them  from  all  their 
enemies,  that  righteousness  and  peace  may  abound 
in  their  days,  and  may  the  Lord  number  them  among 
His  elect  forever  and  ever.  Along  with  this  we  send 
each  of  us,  the  undernamed,  according  to  our  prom- 
ise, two  roubles  in  aid  of  the  Bible  Society, — in  all 
twenty  roubles  from  nine  peasants.^^ 

The  following  official  reports,  taken  from  State 
papers  in  St.  Petersburg,  are  valuable,  as  represent- 
ing the  principles  of  the  Doukhobors  from  the  point 
of  view  of  an  opponent ; 

"  To  his  Excellency  the  General  Governor  of  Kar- 
kov: — 

"  Sir:  Michael  Stchirov,  Ainkie  and  Timothy  Su- 
harev,  sent  by  your  Excellency  from  the  vicinity  of 
Karkov,  have  been  admonished  by  Innokenty,  Rector 
of  the  !N'evsky  Seminary  and  the  Archimandrite. 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBORS. 


269 


The  conversation  which  took  place  between  them  I 
forward  to  you  along  with  this  letter. 

"  This  sect  has  been  known  to  me  since  1768.  Then 
I  admonished  them,  and  succeeded  in  turning  several 
of  them  to  the  Church,  but  on  their  returning  home 
they  again  fell  into  their  former  errors.  Since  I  be- 
came Archbishop  of  St.  Petersburgh  I  have  also  ad- 
monished some  of  the  Don  Kossacks,  but  they  re- 
mained obstinate.  Their  obstinacy  is  founded  on  en- 
thusiasm. All  demonstration  that  is  presented  to 
them  they  despise,  saying  that  God  is  present  in  their 
souls,  and  He  instructs  them;  how  then  shall  they 
hearken  to  a  man  ? 

They  have  such  exalted  ideas  of  their  own  holi- 
ness that  they  respect  that  man  only  in  whom  they 
see  the  image  of  God ;  that  is,  perfect  holiness.  They 
say  that  every  one  of  them  may  be  a  prophet  or  an 
apostle,  and  therefore  they  are  zealous  promoters  of 
their  own  sect.  They  make  the  sacraments  consist 
only  in  a  spiritual  acceptance  of  them,  and  therefore 
reject  infant  baptism.  The  opinions  held  by  them 
not  only  establish  equality,  but  also  exclude  the  dis- 
tinction of  ruler  and  subject.  Such  opinions  are  on 
that  account  the  more  dangerous,  that  they  may  be- 
come attractive  to  the  peasantry;  the  truth  of  this 
Germany  has  experienced. 

"  Their  origin  is  to  be  sought  for  among  the  Ana- 
baptists or  Quakers.  I  know  the  course  of  their 
opinion,  and  we  cannot  rest  assured  that  they  will 
desist  from  spreading  abroad  this  evil. 


270 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  RUSSIA. 


"  These  are  my  thoughts,  which  I  have  conceived 
it  my  duty  to  communicate  to  your  Excellency. 

"  With  sincere  respects,  I  am,  etc., 

"  Gabriel, 

"  Metropolitan  of  ^sTovgorod  and  St.  Petersburgh. 
"  May  12,  1792." 

A   DIALOGUE   BETWEEN    THE    RECTOR    OF   THE  NEVSKY 
SEMINARY    OF    ST.    PETERSBURG,  ARCHIMANDRITE 
INNOKENTY,  AND  ONE  OF  THREE  OF  THE  SECT 
CALLED  DOUKHOBORTSI :  MICHAEL  STCHIROV, 
AINKIE      AND      TIMOTHY  SUHA- 
REV,  IN  MAY,  1792. 

Archimandrite. — By  what  way  did  you  come  into 
this  state  that  people  confine  you,  as  one  dangerous  to 
society  ? 

Doukhohortsi. — By  the  malice  of  persecutors. 

A. — What  is  the  reason  of  their  persecuting  you  ? 

D. — Because  it  is  said  that  all  who  desire  to  live 
godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution. 

A. — Who  is  it  that  you  call  your  persecutors  ? 

D. — Those  who  threw  me  into  prison  and  bound 
me  in  fetters. 

A. — How  dare  you  in  this  way  speak  evil  of  the 
established  government,  founded  and  acting  on  prin- 
ciples of  Christian  piety,  which  deprives  none  of  their 
liberty  except  such  as  are  disturbers  of  the  public 
^eace  and  prosperity? 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBORS. 


271 


D. — There  is  no  other  government  but  God's,  who 
rules  over  the  hearts  of  kings  and  men ;  but  God  does 
not  bind  in  fetters,  neither  does  He  command  those 
to  be  persecuted  who  will  not  give  His  glory  unto  any 
other,  and  who  dwell  in  peace  and  in  perfect  love, 
and  in  the  service  of  each  other. 

A. — What  does  that  signify,  "  who  will  not  give 
His  glory  unto  any  other     whom  other  ? 

D. — Read  the  second  commandment  and  you  will 
know. 

A. — By  this  I  observ^e  you  mean  to  reflect  censure 
on  those  who  worship  before  the  images  of  the 
Saviour  and  His  saints  ? 

D. — He  hath  placed  His  image  in  our  souls.  Again 
it  is  said  that  those  who  worship  Him  must  worship 
Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

A. — From  this  it  is  evident  that  you  have  brought 
yourself  into  your  present  condition  by  falling  into 
error,  ill  understanding  piety,  and  entertaining  opin- 
ions hurtful  to  the  faith  and  to  your  country. 

D. — It  is  not  true. 

A. — How?  Do  you  not  err  when  you  think  that 
there  are  powers  that  be  which  exist  in  opposition  to 
the  will  of  God  ? — for  "  there  is  no  power  but  of 
God  " ; — or  that  that  government  persecutes  piety 
which  is  appointed  to  restrain  and  correct  the  diso- 
bedient and  unruly  ? — ^for  "  he  is  the  minister  of  God, 
a  revenger  to  execute  wrath  upon  him  that  doeth 
evil." 

H. — What  evil  do  we  do?  IN'one. 


272 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IN  RUSSIA. 


A. — Do  you  not  hurt  the  faith  by  your  false  rea- 
sonings concerning  the  holy  ordinances,  and  by  your 
blind  zeal  against  God,  like  the  Jews  of  old,  whose 
zeal  was  not  according  to  knowledge  ? 

D. — Let  knowledge  remain  with  you,  only  do  not 
touch  us  who  live  in  peace,  pay  the  taxes,  do  harm 
to  no  one,  and  respect  and  obey  earthly  government. 

A. — But  perhaps  your  paying  the  taxes,  harming 
no  one,  and  obeying  earthly  government  are  only  the 
effect  of  necessity,  and  the  weakness  of  your  power; 
while  your  peace  and  love  respect  those  only  who 
are  of  your  opinion  ? 

D. — Construe  as  you  choose. 

A. — At  least  it  is  far  from  being  disagreeable  to 
you,  I  suppose,  to  behold  your  society  increasing  ? 

D. — We  desire  good  unto  all  men,  and  that  all 
may  be  saved  and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth. 

A. — Leave  off  your  studied  secrecy  and  evasive 
and  dubious  answers.  Explain  and  reveal  to  me  your 
opinions  candidly,  as  unto  a  man  who  has  nothing  in 
view  but  to  find  out  Truth. 

D. — I  understand  you,  because  that  same  spirit 
of  truth  which  enlightens  us  in  things  respecting 
faith  and  life  assists  us  also  in  discovering  affecta- 
tion and  deceit  in  every  man;  but,  in  order  to  get 
free  of  your  importunity,  and  with  boldness  to 
preach  the  true  faith,  I  shall  answer  your  questions 
as  I  am  able, 

A. — By  what  way, — by  the  assistance  of  others,  or 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBORS. 


273 


bj  the  use  of  your  own  powers  only, — did  you  obtain 
this  spirit  of  truth? 

D. — He  is  near  our  hearts,  and  therefore  no  as- 
sistance is  necessary.  A  siQcere  desire  and  ardent 
prayer  only  are  required. 

A. — At  least  you  ground  yourself  on  the  Word  of 
God? 

D. — I  do  ground  myself  on  it. 

A. — But  the  Word  of  God  teaches  us  that  God 
has  committed  the  true  faith  and  the  dispensing  of 
her  ordinance  and  instruction  in  piety  to  certain  per- 
sons, chosen  and  ordained  to  this  purpose ; — "  accord- 
ing to  the  grace  of  God  given  unto  me,  as  a  wise  mas- 
ter-builder, I  have  laid  the  foundation.'^ 

D. — True.  Such  were  our  deputies  who  were  sent 
here  in  1767  and  1769.  But  what  did  the  spirit  of 
persecution  and  of  wrath  do  to  them?  Some  were 
consigned  to  be  soldiers,  and  others  were  sent  into 
exile. 

A. — You  doubtless  understand  by  those  deputies 
well-meaning  people  like  yourself  ? 
D.— Yes. 

A. — But  you  and  people  like  you,  though  good 
people,  cannot  be  either  ministers  or  teachers  of  the 
Holy  Faith. 

D.— Why  ? 

A. — Because  a  church  cannot  be  established  by 
one's  own  power,  as  is  manifest  from  1  Corinthians 
3:  5.  Secondly,  because  thereto  particular  talents 
and  gifts,  bestowed  from  above,  are  requisite,  by 


274 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


which  we  are  made  able  ministers  of  the  ^N'ew  Cov- 
enant (2  Corinthians  3:6).  Thirdly,  it  is  therefore 
absolutely  necessary  to  this  lawful  and  gracious  call- 
ing to  have  that  ordination  which  remained  in  the 
Holy  Church  from  the  time  of  the  apostles,  as  it  is 
said,  "  And  He  gave  some  apostles  and  some  pro- 
phets and  some  evangelists,  and  some  pastors  and 
teachers  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body 
of  Christ  (Ephesians  4:  2)." 

D. — There  is  no  calling  to  this  office  but  that 
which  crieth  in  our  hearts;  neither  does  our  learning 
consist  in  the  words  which  men's  wisdom  teacheth, 
but  in  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power. 
Are  the  gifts  which  you  require  such  as  the  being 
able  to  gabble  Latin  ? 

A. — You  do  not  understand  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  this  is  the  source  of  all  your  errors.  The  Apos- 
tle in  the  words  quoted  by  you  does  not  reject  the 
talents  and  gifts  of  acquired  knowledge,  but  con- 
trasts the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ  with  the  wisdom 
of  the  heathen,  which  latter  prevailed  at  that  time. 
And  that  the  calling  of  pastors  and  teachers  always 
depended  on  the  Church,  by  which  they  were  chosen, 
is  manifest  from  the  very  history  of  those  pastors 
and  teachers  of  the  Church,  who  are  eternally  glori- 
fied. 

D.— What  Holy  Scriptures  ?  What  Church  ?  What 
do  you  mean  by  Holy  Scriptures  ? 

A. — ^Did  not  you  yourself  say  that  you  founded 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBOES. 


275 


your  opinions  on  the  Word  of  God  ?  That  is  what  I 
mean  by  Holy  Scriptures. 

D. — The  Word  of  God  is  spiritual,  immaterial, 
and  can  be  written  on  nothing  except  on  the  heart 
and  spirit. 

A. — But  when  the  Saviour  saith,  "  Search  the 
Scriptures/^  and  gives  us  the  reason  of  this  com- 
mand, because  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal 
life,"  can  we  really  understand  an}i;hing  else  than 
the  written  Word  of  God  ?  This  is  the  treasure  He 
Himself  has  entrusted  to  His  Holy  Church  as  the 
unalterable  rule  of  faith  and  life. 

D. — And  what  do  you  call  a  church  ? 

A. — An  assembly  of  believers  in  Jesus  Christ,  gov- 
erned by  pastors  according  to  regulations  founded  on 
the  Word  of  God,  and  partakers  of  the  ordinances  of 
Faith. 

D. — "Not  so.  There  is  but  one  Pastor,  Jesus 
Christ,  who  laid  down  His  life  for  the  sheep,  and  one 
church,  holy,  apostolical,  spiritual,  invisible,  of  which 
it  is  said:  "  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  to- 
gether in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of 
them  " ;  in  which  no  worship  is  paid  to  any  material 
object,  where  those  only  are  teachers  who  live  vir- 
tuous lives,  where  the  Word  of  God  is  obeyed  in 
their  hearts,  on  which  it  descends  like  dew  upon  the 
fleece,  and  out  of  which  it  flows  as  from  a  spring  in 
the  midst  of  the  mountains ;  where  there  are  no  such 
noisy,  ostentatious,  offensive  and  idolatrous  meetings 
and  vain  ceremonies  as  with  you,  neither  drunken 


276 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IN  RUSSIA. 


and  insulting  pastors  and  teachers  like  yours,  nor 
such  a  degree  of  evil  disposition  and  corruption  as 
among  you. 

A. — Well,  do  you  render  becoming  respect  and 
thankfulness  to  those  men  who  were  distinguished 
for  holiness,  and,  after  death,  glorified  by  God,  as 
having  been  observers  of  faith  and  virtue  ? 

D, — Where  and  whom  has  God  thus  glorified  ? 

A. — Are  the  names  of  Chrysostom  and  Gregory 
the  Great,  and  such  like,  known  to  you? 

D. — I  know  them. 

A. — AVhat  do  you  think  of  them? 

D. — What  do  I  think  ?  They  were  men. 

A. — But  holy  men;  that  is,  their  faith  and  lives 
were  agreeable  to  God.  and  on  this  account  they  were 
miraculously  glorified  from  above. 

D. — Let  us  suppose  so. 

A. — But  for  all  those  offices  and  ceremonies  which 
you  denominate  idolatrous  and  vain,  the  Church  is 
indebted  to  them,  and  the  worship  of  images  has  been 
declared  not  to  be  sinful  by  the  Council  of  the  Holy 
Fathers.    How,  then,  will  you  make  this  agree  ? 

D. — I  know  not.  I  only  know  that  hell  will  be 
filled  with  priests  and  deacons  and  unjust  judges.  As 
for  me,  I  will  worship  God  as  He  instructs  me. 

A. — But  can  you  without  danger  depend  upon 
yourseK, — that  sometimes  you  do  not  take  your 
own  opinion,  and  even  foolish  imagination,  for  divine 
inspiration  ? 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBORS. 


D. — How?  For  this  purpose  reason  is  given  to 
us.   I  see  what  is  good  and  what  is  bad. 

A. — A  poor  dependence.  With  the  best  reason 
sometimes  good  appears  to  be  bad,  and  bad  to  be 
good. 

D. — I  will  pray  to  God  that  He  will  send  His 
Word,  and  God  never  deceives. 

A. — True,  God  never  deceives,  but  you  deceive 
yourself,  assuming  yourself  of  that  on  His  part  which 
never  took  place. 

D. — God  does  not  reject  the  prayers  of  believers. 

A. — True.  Those  requests  which  are  agreeable  to 
the  law  of  faith  Divine  wisdom  will  not  reject,  but 
you  ask  and  receive  not  because  you  ask  amiss.  For 
this  purpose  hath  He  given  us  the  Book,  His  Divine 
Word,  that  we  might  behold  in  it  His  will,  and  that 
our  petitions  may  be  directed  according  to  it.  But 
miracles  and  immediate  inspirations  from  Him  with- 
out a  cause  it  is  vain  to  expect  in  the  present  day, 
particularly  such  as  are  improper  and  unworthy  of 
Him.  And  to  pretend  to  such  inspirations  and  reve- 
lations is  very  hurtful  to  society,  and  therefore  ought 
to  be  checked. 

D. — But  to  me  they  appear  to  be  very  useful,  salu- 
tary and  worthy  of  acceptation. 

A. — What?  To  break  off  from  the  society  of 
your  countrymen,  united  with  you  by  the  same  lawti 
and  the  same  articles  of  faith,  and  to  introduce 
strange  doctrines  and  laws  of  your  own  making  ?  To 
begin  to  expound  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  with- 


278 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  EUSSIA. 


out  the  aid  of  an  enlightened  education,  disregard- 
ing the  advice  of  those  men  who  are  most  versed  and 
experienced  in  those  things;  and  out  of  your  own 
head  to  found  a  separate  society  upon  all  this?  Is 
not  this  to  rise  against  your  country,  to  refuse  to 
serve  it  when  the  sanctity  of  an  oath  is  required  ? 
And  will  the  simple  command  of  the  higher  powers 
be  sufficient  to  unite  you  with  others  to  defend  your 
country,  your  fellow^  citizens  and  your  faith? 
D.—  .\  . 

A. — Why  do  you  make  no  answer  to  this  ? 

D. — There  is  nothing  to  say.  I  am  not  so  loqua 
cious  as  you  are ;  neither  have  I  need  of  it. 

A. — That  is  true.  But  do  you  not  see  at  least 
whither  your  blind  zeal  is  leading  you,  and  that  you 
have  deserved  to  suffer  much  more  than  has  yet  be- 
fallen you,  because  your  repentance  and  amendment 
is  expected  ? 

D. — Do  what  you  choose  with  us.  We  are  happy 
to  suffer  for  the  faith.  This  is  not  a  new  thing.  Did 
you  never  hear  an  old  story  ? 

A. — Tell  me,  I  pray  you,  what  one  ? 

D. — A  certain  man  planted  a  vineyard,  and  set  a 
hedge  about  it,  and  digged  the  place  for  the  wine  vat, 
and  built  a  tower,  and  let  it  out  to  husbandmen,  and 
went  into  a  far  coimtry.  And  at  the  season  he  sent 
to  the  husbandmen  a  servant,  that  he  might  receive 
from  the  husbandmen  of  the  fruit  of  the  vineyard. 
And  they  caught  him  and  beat  him,  and  sent  him 
away,  shamefully  handled.    And  again  he  sent  an- 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBORS. 


279 


other,  and  him  they  killed;  and  many  others,  beating 
some  and  killing  some.  Having,  therefore,  one  son, 
his  well-beloved,  he  sent  him  also  last  mito  them, 
saying.  They  will  reverence  my  son;  but  those  hus- 
bandmen said  among  themselves:  This  is  the  heir; 
come,  let  us  kill  him,  and  the  inheritance  shall  be 
ours.  And  they  took  him  and  killed  him,  and  cast 
him  out  of  the  vineyard.  What  shall  therefore  the 
Lord  of  the  vineyard  do  ?  He  will  come  and  destroy 
these  husbandmen,  and  will  give  the  vineyard  unto 
others.    More  with  you  I  will  not  speak. 

A. — At  least  tell  me  this:  How  can  this  be  recon- 
ciled, that  you  reject  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  at 
once  endeavor  to  support  yourself  upon  them? 

D. — E^ason  as  you  will;  I  have  spoken  what  was 
necessary,  and  shall  not  say  another  word. 

Finis. 

The  foregoing  partial  statements  of  their  belief, 
made,  no  doubt,  at  some  disadvantage,  may  be  sup- 
plemented by  other  of  their  own  explanations,  col- 
lected by  Xovitsky  and  recently  published  by  Aylmer 
Maude.  As  to  their  belief  in  the  Eternal  Deity, 
they  say: 

"  There  is  one  God.  The  Holy  Trinity  is  a  being 
beyond  comprehension:  The  Father  is  light,  the  Son 
life,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  peace;  it  is  affirmed  in 
man,  the  Father  by  memory,  the  Son  by  reason,  the 
Holy  Spirit  by  will:  the  one  God  in  Trinity.'' 


280 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  RUSSIA. 


Aylmer  Maude  tersely  and  pertinently  remarks, 
in  this  connection:  We  continually  find  in  the 
Doukhobor  statements  of  belief  two  different  notes. 
The  one  is  calm,  moderate,  persuasive,  couched  al- 
most in  the  orthodox  phraseology  of  the  Eastern 
Church,  but  importing  a  philosophic  truth  into  the 
conventional  phrases,  and,  at  dangerous  points,  tak- 
ing refuge  in  mysticism.  The  other  is  clear,  reso- 
lute, radical;  there  is  no  mysticism  or  secrecy  about 
it,  but  it  is  often  harshly  contemptuous  and  inimical, 
not  merely  to  all  authority  in  church  and  state,  but 
towards  all  who  do  not  agree  at  once  and  absolutely. 
It  answers  to  the  harshest  note  sounded  by  the  first 
generation  of  Quakers,  in  their  scorn  of  '  steeple- 
houses  '  and  ^  hireling  priests.' '' 

With  regard  to  the  outward  knowledge  of  the  his- 
torical Christ  they  say, — 

"  For  our  salvation  it  is  not  essential  to  have  an 
external  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ;  for  there  is  the 
inward  Word  which  reveals  Him  in  the  depths  of 
our  souls.  It  existed  in  all  ages,  and  enlightens  all 
who  are  ready  to  receive  it,  whether  they  be  nomin- 
ally Christians  or  not.'' 

In  this  statement  we  see  a  full  recognition  of  the 
inshining  Light  of  Christ,  and  His  inspeaking  Word, 
upon  w^hich  George  Fox  and  his  co-laborers  laid  par- 
ticular emphasis. 

Touching  the  Kesurrection,  they  believe, — 

"  Those  enlightened  by  the  Spirit  of  God  will  af- 
ter death  rise  again; — what  will  become  of  other 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBORS. 


281 


people  is  uncertain.  It  is  the  soul,  and  not  the  body, 
that  will  rise. 

"  Sensual  desires  sow  the  seeds  of  future  torment. 
The  craving  for  honors  now  torments  the  ambitious 
man,  and  the  craving  for  drink  the  drunkard,  but 
much  more  will  those  who  have  sown  the  seeds  of 
such  desire  be  tormented  in  the  future  life,  when 
they  will  not  be  able  to  gratify  the  passions. 

"  If  this  is  the  result  of  sowing  evil  passions  in 
this  life,  on  the  other  hand  the  result  of  sowing  good 
seed  will  be  continued  growth  towards  perfection, 
till  the  purified  souls  become  like  God  Himself.^' 

I^ovitsky  says,  "  Luxury  in  food  or  dress  is  con- 
demned, because  luxury,  indulging  the  flesh, 
strengthens  it  to  stifle  the  inward  light  coming  from 
above." 

Concerning  military  service,  they  say,  "  To  go  to 
war,  to  carry  arms  and  to  take  oaths  are  forbidden." 
Regarding  war  as  a  forbidden  thing,  they  say  they 
have  set  themselves  a  rule  not  to  carry  arms. 

The  Church  is  a  society  selected  by  God  himself.  It  is 
invisible  and  is  scattered  over  the  whole  world  ;  it  is 
not  marked  externally  by  any  common  creed.  Not 
Christians  only,  but  Jews,  Mohammedans  and  others  may 
be  members  of  it,  if  only  they  hearken  to  the  inward 
Word:  and  therefore — 

The  Holy  Sci'iptures,  or  the  outer  Word,  are  not 
essential  for  the  sons  of  God.  It  is,  however,  of  use  to 
them,  because  in  the   Scriptures,  as  in  nature  and  in 


282 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  RUSSIA. 


ourselves,  they  read  the  decrees  and  the  acts  of  the  Lord, 
But  the  Scriptures  must  be  understood  symbolically,  to 
represent  things  that  are  inward  and  spiritual.  It  mtLst 
all  be  understood  to  relate  in  a  mystical  manner  to  the 
Christ  uithin. 

The  Christ  vrithin  is  the  only  true  Hierarch  and  Priest. 
Therefore  no  external  priest  is  necessary.  In  whomever 
Christ  lives,  he  is  Chrisfs  heir,  and  is  himself  a  priest 
unto  himself.  The  priests  of  temples  made  with  hands 
are  appointed  externally,  and  can  perform  only  what  is 
external;  they  are  not  what  they  are  usually  esteemed  to  be. 

The  sons  of  God  should  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  and,  therefore,  need  no  external  worship  of  God. 
The  external  sacraments  have  no  efficacy ;  they  should  be 
understood  in  a  spiritual  sense.  To  baptize  a  child  with 
water  is  unbecoming  for  a  Christian;  an  adult  baptizes 
himself  with  the  Word  of  truth,  and  is  then  baptized, 
indeed,  by  the  true  priest,  Christ,  with  spirit  and  with  fire. 

True  confession  is  heartfelt  contrition  before  God,  though 
ive  may  also  confess  our  sins  one  to  another  when  occasion 
presents  itself. 

The  external  sacraments  of  the  Church  are  offensive  to 
God,  for  Christ  desires  not  signs,  but  realities;  the  real 
communion  comes  by  the  Word,  by  thought,  and  by  faith. 

Marriage  should  be  accomplished  without  any  ceremonies; 
it  needs  only  the  will  of  those  who  have  come  of  age  and 
who  are  united  in  love  to  one  another,  the  consent  of  the 
parents,  and  an  inward  oath  and  vow,  before  all-seeing 
God,  in  the  souls  of  those  who  are  marrying,  that  they 
willf   to   the   end  of  their  days,  remain  faithful  and 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBOES. 


283 


inseparable.  An  external  marriage  ceremony^  apart  from 
the  inward  marriage,  has  no  meaning ;  it  has  at  most  this 
effect,  that  being  performed  before  witnesses,  it  maintains 
the  bond  between  the  spouses  by  the  fear  of  shame,  should 
they  break  the  promise  of  fidelity  they  have  given. 

The  priesthood  is  not  an  office  reserved  for  specially 
selected  people:  each  real  Christian,  enlightened  by  the 
Word,  may  and  should  pray  to  God  for  himself,  and 
should  spread  the  truth  that  has  been  entrusted  to  him, 

^^What  am  I  then?    A  temple  to  the  Lord  most  high. 
The  altar  and  the  priest,  the  sacrifice  am  1. 
Our  hearts  the  altars  are;  our  wills  the  offering; 
Our  souls  they  are  the  prieM,  our  sacrifice  to  bring.''* 

The  forms  of  worship  of  all  the  external  churches  in  the 
world,  their  various  institutions,  all  the  ranks  and  orders 
of  their  servants,  their  costumes  and  movements,  were 
invented  after  the  time  of  the  Apostles, — those  men  of  holy 
wisdom, — and  are  in  themselves  naught  but  dead  signs, 
mere  figures  and  letters,  externally  representing  that  sacred, 
invisible,  living  and  wise  power  of  God,  which  (like  the 
sun*s  rays)  enlightens  and  pervades  the  souls  of  the  elect, 
and  lives  and  acts  in  them,  purifying  them,  and  uniting 
them  to  God, 

To  pray  in  temples  made  with  hands  is  contrary  to  the 
injunction  of  the  Saviour  :  "  When  thou  pray  est,  enter  into 
thine  inner  chamber,  and  having  shut  the  door,  pray  to  thy 
Father  which  is  in  secret.'*    (Matt,  6  :  6.) 

Yet  a  son  of  God  need  not  fear  to  enter  any  temples, — 
Papal,  Greek,  Lutheran,  Calvinist,  or  other :  to  him  they 
are  all  indifferent.  All  the  ceremonies  of  the  churches, 
being  useless,  were  much  better  left  alone. 


284 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


Icons  they  do  not  respect  or  worship^  hut  consider  as  idols. 

The  saints  may  be  respected  for  their  virtues,  but  should 
not  be  prayed  to. 

Fasting  should  consist  in  fleeing  from  lusts  and  refrain- 
ing from  superfluities. 

The  decrees  of  the  Churches  and  the  Councils  should 
not  be  accepted. 

The  Church  has  no  right  to  judge  or  to  sentence  anyone; 
for  it  cannot  know  all  maris  inward,  secret  motives. 

The  Doukhobors  take  nothing  from  travelers  who 
stop  at  their  houses  either  for  lodging  or  food,  and 
thej  have  been  accustomed  to  erect  a  special  lodging 
house  for  visitors. 

Respect  from  children  to  parents  is  strictly  oV 
served,  and,  in  general,  from  younger  men  to  those 
older,  though  the  latter,  and  even  parents,  do  not 
appropriate  to  themselves  any  ascendency  over  the 
younger  ones,  but  regard  these  as  spiritually  their 
equals. 

There  exists  no  punishment  among  the  brethren. 
As  soon  as  a  brother  thinks  another  has  behaved  im- 
properly, he,  according  to  the  precise  Gospel  instruc- 
tion, reminds  him  that  he  is  acting  wrongly;  if  the 
one  at  fault  will  not  take  this  counsel  kindly,  he  is 
admonished  in  the  presence  of  two  or  three  of  the 
^  brethren;  if  he  does  not  take  heed  of  them,  he  is  in- 
vited to  appear  before  the  general  assembly.  There 
have  been  cases,  though  very  seldom,  in  which  some 
of  the  offenders  have  left  the  Brotherhood  in  order 


FAITH  OF  THE  DOUKHOBORS. 


285 


to  live  at  liberty  according  to  their  own  unrestricted 
desire. 

The  men  elect  to  learn  various  handicrafts,  while 
agriculture  has  generally  employed  the  majority. 

They  have  no  written  or  printed  regulations  for 
their  communities,  a  fact  which  might  be  supposed 
to  lead  to  disagreements  and  disorder;  but  this  is 
quite  the  exception.  Parents  watch  over  and  correct 
the  faults  of  their  children,  far  more  effectually  than 
is  apparent  in  most  Christian  countries.  The  system 
of  education  among  the  Doukhobors  is  simple  and 
uniform.  As  soon  as  the  child  begins  to  speak  and 
understand,  his  parents  begin  verbally  to  teach  him 
prayers  and  psalms,  and  to  tell  him  something  out  of 
the  Scriptures;  and  they  thus  continue  to  instruct 
their  children  in  Christian  doctrine.  These  little 
Doukhobors  very  early  accompany  their  elders  to  the 
gatherings  for  religious  expression,  where  they  take 
their  part  in  reciting  such  prayers  and  psalms  as  they 
have  learned.  Owing  to  such  education,  which  also 
embraces  teaching  some  useful  way  of  working  with 
their  hands,  the  spirit  of  the  parents  passes  by  de- 
grees into  their  children ;  their  ways  of  thinking  take 
deep  root,  and  the  tendency  towards  good  is  most 
strongly  encouraged  by  good  examples. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  EASKOLNIKS  AND  OTHEK  DISSENTEES. 

The  history  of  religious  dissent  in  Russia  dates 
tack  to  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Some  peasants,  and  others  more  favored  with  edu- 
cational opportunities,  who  thought  they  could  ex- 
plain the  meaning  of  the  figures  in  the  Apocalypse, 
had  decided  that  the  mysterious  number  of  the  beast 
was  1666, —  and  there  doubtless  was  enough  falling 
away  from  the  faith  in  that  year  of  our  Lord  to  af- 
ford the  evidence  they  wanted  to  support  their  inter- 
pretation. 

It  was  also  about  this  time  that  Tsar  Alexei 
Michailovich  ordered  a  revision  of  the  Russian  Bible 
and  other  church  books,  for  it  was  well  known  that 
many  errors  had  crept  into  the  text.  This  was  finally 
accomplished  by  the  Patriarch  Xikon,  who  compared 
his  revision  with  the  original  Greek  manuscripts, 
and,  as  this  work  obtained  the  approval  of  the  Tsar 
and  two  ecclesiastical  councils,  it  was  made  obliga- 
tory upon  the  people.  Many  of  them,  however, 
would  have  none  of  "  Xikonian  novelties,"  as  they 
dubbed  the  revision,  and  thus  began  the  Raslcol, — 
the  schism,  or  "  split,"  in  the  church. 

Great  objection  was  made  to  the  most  trivial 
changes  in  spelling,  or  in  the  number  of  times  the 
sign  of  the  cross  should  be  made  and  the  position 
-of  the  fingers  while  making  it.      What  have  you 


THE  DISSENTERS. 


287 


done  with  the  Son  of  God  ?  Give  Him  back  to  us ! 
You  have  changed  Issus  [the  old  Russian  form  of 
Jesus]  into  lissus !  It  is  fearful  not  only  to  commit 
such  a  sin,  but  even  to  think  of  it ! ; — these  are  fair 
examples  of  the  attitude  of  many  toward  the  altered 
text  of  the  Scriptures. 

It  might  be  well,  before  entering  further  into  this 
account  of  religious  persecution,  to  understand  the 
motives  of  the  Russian  Government  in  its  hostility  to 
these  dissenters;  for  at  one  time  the  Old  Believers,'' 
as  they  called  themselves,  waged  an  unrelenting 
war  upon  the  whole  body  of  European  reforms,  and, 
having  reached  the  conclusion  that  every  feature  of 
the  machinery  of  government,  from  the  taking  of  a 
census  to  the  keeping  of  a  registry  of  births  and 
deaths,  was  essentially  evil  in  its  purpose  and  nature, 
they  carried  their  antagonism  to  the  extreme  of  at- 
tributing the  miserable  condition  of  the  country  to 
the  machinations  of  an  Antichrist  Tsar."  Russia 
and  the  Russians.") 

One  naturally  wonders,  however,  why  such  peace- 
loving,  industrious  and  honest  people  as  the  Doukho- 
bors,  Molokans  and  Stundists  should  be  persecuted, 
while  their  German  or  Mohammedan  neighbors,  also 
living  under  Russian  rule,  go  unmolested,  so  far  as 
religion  is  concerned.  Evidently  nationality  plays  an 
important  part  in  this  distinction.    Wallace  says: 

Tartars,  Germans  and  Poles  are  all,  in  a  sense, 
heretics,  but  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case  a  Tartar 
should  be  a  Mohammedan,  the  German  a  Protestant 


288 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  RUSSIA. 


and  the  Pole  a  Roman  Catholic,  while  the  Russian 
must  needs  be  a  member  of  the  Orthodox  Russian 
Church,  and  an  inclination  on  his  part  to  change  his 
religion,  no  matter  how  pure  and  elevated  his  mo- 
tives may  be,  brings  down  upon  him  the  criminal  law 
and  popular  opinion  as  if  he  had  been  a  traitor."  The 
Russian  Church  has  long  paid  inordinate  attention  to 
an  elaborated  ritual,  no  doubt  gaining  thereby  many 
converts  from  peoples  who  were  accustomed  to  pagan 
rites  and  magical  incantations,  but  gaining  also  at 
the  expense  of  a  moral  and  spiritual  life. 

In  this  connection  it  is  pre-eminently  true  that 
"  The  weakness  inseparable  from  all  ceremonialism 
is  that  it  curses  and  blesses  according  to  some  pre- 
scribed ritual,  and  thus  divorces  itseK  from  human 
nature.  The  doctrine  of  ^  apostolic  succession  '  is  a 
case  in  point.  Its  upholders  are  forced  by  the  logic 
of  facts  to  admit  that  some  through  whom  they  be- 
lieved it  to  have  descended  have  been  wicked  men; 
and  so,  to  save  their  theory,  they  claim  that  the  offi- 
cial (pretended)  possession  of  the  Holy  Ghost  has  no 
connection  with  personal  morality.  It  thus  blesses 
what  God  has  cursed.  In  Christianity  there  are  no 
essential — and  can  be  no  essential — ceremonies,  for 
genuine  Christianity  has  to  do  only  with  the  attitude 
and  the  development  of  the  character,  and  with  acts 
naturally  flowing  therefrom.  A  dogmatic  creed  is 
really  an  intellectual  sacramentalism.  It  tends  to 
substitute  ideas  and  formulas  in  the  place  of  life.''* 


•Dr.  R.  H.  Thomas,  in  "Present-Day  Papers." 


THE  DISSENTERS. 


289 


Simple  traditional  custom  and  religious  convic- 
tions have  often  been  confounded,  until  it  became 
difficult  to  distinguish  between  a  social  habit  and  a 
doctrine  of  faith.  An  old  Russian  would  have  re- 
sisted the  attempt  to  deprive  him  of  his  beard  as 
stoutly  as  a  Calvinist  of  the  present  time  would  re- 
sist the  suggestion  for  him  to  abjure  predestination, 
and  both  for  the  same  reason, — because  they  be- 
lieved it  essential  to  their  salvation.  Where,'' 
asked  one  of  the  patriarchs  of  Moscow,  "  will  those 
who  shave  their  chins  stand  at  the  Last  Day, — among 
the  righteous  adorned  with  beards,  or  among  the 
beardless  heretics  ? " 

Thus  we  recognize  an  honest  purpose  on  the  part 
of  both  the  persecuted  and  their  persecutors,  but  with 
this  difference, — the  latter  missed  the  benefit  Jesus 
said  would  rest  upon  those  who  were  cast  out  for 
His  sake. 

The  decree  of  excommunication  pronounced  by  the 
Ecclesiastical  Council  placed  the  nonconformist  be- 
yond the  pale  of  the  Church,  and  since  1680  the  civil 
power  has  undertaken  the  part  of  persecuting  him, — 
an  endless  and  gruesome  task.  The  immediate  effect 
was  to  confirm  the  victims  in  their  belief  that  the 
Church  and  the  Tsar  had  become  heretical,  and  to 
drive  thousands  across  the  frontier  into  Poland, 
Prussia,  Sweden,  Austria,  Turkey,  the  Caucasus  and 
Siberia,  while  still  others  fled  to  the  northern  forests, 
where  they  worshiped  according  to  their  consciences 
and  sent  out  missionaries  to  sow  what  they  called 


290 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  EUSSIA. 


"  the  living  seed.''  Thousands  perished  by  self-im- 
molation when  pursued  by  the  agents  of  the  govern- 
ment. To  them  the  "  revision  "  of  Peter  the  Great 
was  a  profane  "  numbering  of  the  people,"  and  an  at- 
tempt to  enroll  in  the  service  of  Antichrist  those 
whose  names  were  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of 
Life.  They  said,  "  The  world  could  not  have  been 
created,  according  to  the  corrected  calendar,  in  the 
month  called  January,  because  apples  were  not  ripe 
at  that  season,  and  consequently  Eve  could  not  have 
been  tempted  in  the  way  described  in  Genesis." 

At  first  these  "  Old  Ritualists  "  had  no  organiza- 
tion, but,  as  time  went  on  and  the  world  did  not  come 
to  an  end,  as  they  had  predicted,  nor  did  the  Tsar  re- 
turn to  the  true  faith,  they  found  themselves  in  a 
dilemma,  created  by  their  notions  about  "  apostolic 
succession," — for  to  them  the  historic  continuity  of 
the  Church  could  only  be  preserved  through  its 
priesthood,  and  of  this  official  order  they  had  none 
properly  ordained."  The  result  was  another  schism 
among  these  zealous  advocates  of  orthodoxy.  The 
"  Old  Eitualists  "  held  to  the  sacraments  and  cere- 
monial observances  on  the  old  form,  while  the  Bez- 
popoftsij  or  "  priestless  people,"  have  tried  to  find 
some  other  way  to  Heaven. 

It  would  be  amusing,  if  the  subject  were  not  so 
serious,  to  follow  the  account  of  expedients  resorted 
to  by  these  excommunicated  conservatives  in  order  to 
secure  a  "  consecrated  "  bishop.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
in  the  course  of  a  century  they  finally  succeeded. 


THE  DISSENTERS. 


291 


The  priestless  section  went  into  all  sorts  of  fantas- 
tical notions,  but  as  Wallace  pertinently  says,  "  Ex- 
treme fanaticism,  like  all  other  abnormal  states,  can- 
not long  exist  in  a  mass  of  human  beings  without 
some  constant  exciting  cause. 

"  The  vulgar  necessities  of  everyday  life,  espe- 
cially among  people  who  have  to  live  by  the  labor  of 
their  hands,  have  a  wonderfully  sobering  effect  on 
the  excited  brain,  and  must  always,  sooner  or  later, 
prove  fatal  to  inordinate  excitement.''  Thus  most 
of  these  poor  people  gave  up  their  unnatural  ideas. 
However,  they  split  up  into  divers  sects,  such  as  the 
"  Theodosians,"  "  Philippians,"  and  "  Pilgrims." 
The  total  number  of  dissenters  is  about  11,000,000: 
this  includes  Protestants  and  all  who  do  not  accept 
the  Grseco-Russian  form  of  belief,  such  as  the  Molo- 
kans,  or  "  Milk  Drinkers,''  and  "  Flagellants." 

Time  and  interest  would  both  fail  in  trying  to 
name  and  define  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of 
all  the  various  sects  which  have  become  more  or  less 
noted  for  their  protest  against  the  Orthodox  Church. 
We  may  not,  however,  pass  by  the  Stundists  without 
some  mention  of  their  character  and  sufferings. 

Mysticism,  rationalism  and  evangelism  are  all  rep- 
resented in  many  phases  by  the  general  body  of  dis- 
senters. The  Doukhobors  might  be  classed  with  the 
first  and  second  of  these  divisions,  while  the  Stundists 
belong  more  properly  to  the  evangelicals. 


292 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  RUSSIA. 


THE  STUXDISTS. 

This  sect  has  been  so  closely  associated  with  the 
Doukhobors  during  the  past  forty  years  that  their 
rise  and  sufferings  are  almost  a  counterpart  of  those 
of  the  older  sect. 

The  Germans  who  settled  in  the  government  of 
Cherson  during  the  reign  of  Catherine  II.  maintained 
their  Lutheran  and  Mennonite  faith,  and  it  was 
through  their  faithfulness  that  certain  Russian  peas- 
ants embraced  similar  religious  views. 

The  first  man  who  spread  the  gospel  among  his 
fellow-countrymen  was  one  Onishenko.  He  declared 
himself  *^  converted  "  in  1858,  and  so  successful  were 
his  efforts  in  arousing  those  among  whom  he  lived 
and  labored,  that  meetings  for  reading  the  Bible  and 
aiding  propaganda  interests  were  held  throughout 
Southern  Russia.  Masses  of  people  crowded  the 
meeting  houses;  they  sang  and  prayed  and  read  the 
Gospels  and  multiplied  exceedingly.  The  police  were 
nonplused  and  the  priests  stood  aghast : — it  was  a  tide 
the  force  of  which  they  could  not  stem,  and  the  depth 
of  which  they  could  not  fathom.  We  must  worship 
God  in  spirit,"  said  the  Stundists,*  and  the  spirit 
being  free,  our  worship  should  likewise  be  free  " — 
from  the  fetters  of  ceremonies  and  priestly  rule. 
"  My  Saviour  is  my  only  priest !  0  God,  enlighten 
me !  and  make  me  a  changed  man  !  "  Onishenko  had 
prayed ;  and  his  prayer  was  heard,  for  he  says,  "  A 


*  From  the  German  Siunde,  or  hour,  as  these  secretaries 
were  in  the  habit  of  meeting  together  for  an  appointed  hour. 


THE  DISSENTERS. 


293 


marvelous  sense  of  freedom,  a  feeling  of  intense  joy, 
came  over  me,  and  I  knew  God  henceforth.'^  His 
co-religionists  declared  the  ceremonies  of  the  Greek 
Church  to  be  mummeries.  They  boldly  asserted  the 
service  of  God  to  be  living  for  others  and  dying  to 
ourselves.  "  God  is  love,  and  what  He  asks  of  us  is 
love  for  each  other,  who  are  His  images,  and  not  rev- 
erence for  temples  and  wax-lights  and  icons.''  "  The 
whole  monstrous  fabric  of  Russian  orthodoxy,  with 
its  debasing  image- worship  and  sacerdotalism,  was 
put  away,"  says  Charles  Lowe.  "  Old  and  young  set 
themselves  to  learn  to  read  and  write,  and  it  came  to 
pass  that  in  a  land  otherwise  sunk  into  brutish  ignor- 
ance and  superstition,  the  tiller  chanted  scraps  of  the 
Gospel  as  he  walked  after  his  plough,  the  weaver 
sang  chapters  of  it  to  the  noisy  accompaniment  of  the 
shuttle,  and  the  traveler  beguiled  the  tedium  of  his 
journey  with  the  thrilling  stories  of  the  Book." 
Within  three  years  no  less  than  three  hundred  thou- 
sand had  joined  the  Stundist  movement,  and,  like 
Quakerism  in  the  seventeenth  century,  it  threatened 
to  proselytize  the  nation. 

The  testimony  of  Russian  oflScials  and  of  those  not 
in  sympathy  with  them,  affords  strong  evidence  in 
favor  of  their  character.  An  Orthodox  Russian  jour- 
nal says  of  them:  "  Force  and  violence  are  foreign  to 
their  character;  guile  and  double-dealing  are  ban- 
ished from  their  lives;  and  such  is  their  natural  kind- 
heartedness  that  the  insults  and  injustice  which  they 
suffer,  instead  of  kindling  their  anger,  evoke  their 


294 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


compassion.  They  set  such  store  by  honest  labor  that 
they  eschew  every  kind  of  pleasure,  even  the  most 
innocent  of  all, — the  squandering  of  their  time  iu 
idleness.  They  neither  drink,  nor  steal,  nor  swear, 
and  in  the  ups  and  down  of  life  they  bear  themselves 
like  genuine  Christians.  Crime  amongst  them  is  al- 
most unheard  of.  One  of  their  cherished  virtues  con- 
sists in  feeding  the  hungry,  clothing  the  naked,  car- 
ing for  the  sick,  and  sheltering  the  wanderer; — in  a 
word,  in  helping  in  every  possible  way  their  necessi- 
tous neighbors.  An  upright,  sober,  compassionate 
people." 

Such  a  light  could  not  be  hid,  and  its  rays  only  il- 
luminated the  national  and  religious  gloom  enough 
to  reveal  the  cruelty  that  lurked  within  its  embrace. 
The  Church  and  State  combined  in  1878,  by  the  old- 
time  tortures  of  confiscation,  banishment  and  exile, 
to  crush  out  that  life  which  is  ever  the  light  of  men. 
"  My  predecessors  knouted  the  Stundists  with  whips, 
but  I  will  beat  them  with  scorpions,"  said  the  newly- 
consecrated  Bishop  Sergius  under  Alexander  III., 
and  the  Procurator  of  the  Holy  Synod, — known 
throughout  the  empire  as  "  Terror  "  and  "  Keeper  of 
the  Imperial  Conscience," — C.  Pobiedonostzev, — 
willingly  assisted  in  endeavoring  to  root  out  "  the  ac- 
cursed sect."  Scandalous  fines  were  leaded  on  the 
poor  people.  Misery  and  ruin  to  many  a  family,  with 
banishment  of  their  leaders  to  Siberia  or  to  the  Cau- 
casus, were  the  common  experience.  "  Walking  with 
ordinary  criminals  in  chains,  with  shaven  beards  and 


THE  DISSENTEES. 


295 


clad  in  ordinary  prison-garb,  they  were  pushed  and 
hustled  along,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet." 

The  anonymous  author  of    The  Stundists  says: 

The  fabric  of  Kussian  power  is  an  autocracy  based 
on  ignorance  and  superstition,  and  therefore  it  is 
the  interest  of  self-preservation  that  has  always 
prompted  the  Tsar's  government  to  crush  everything 
that  would  bring  enlightenment  in  its  train. 

Thousands  of  Stundists  and  Baptists,  of  Molokans 
and  Doukhobors,  are  banished  to  the  remotest  cor- 
ners of  the  vast  empire,  and  are  imprisoned  and  tor- 
tured in  a  variety  of  ways, — only  a  degree  less  inhu- 
man than  the  scourgings  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Russia 
works  in  secret,  her  methods  are  underground,  and 
her  victims  are  voiceless.  She  has  no  press  to  de- 
nounce each  case  of  persecution  as  it  occurs.  The 
trials  of  heretics  are  conducted  with  closed  doors,  the 
public  being  carefully  excluded.  Russians  themselves 
do  not  know  a  tenth  of  what  is  being  done." 

Thus  were  the  faithful  disciples  of  a  crucified 
Lord  banished,  bankrupted,  and  deprived  of  all  civil 
rights, — torn  from  the  bosom  of  their  families,  and 
treated  as  most  dangerous  criminals.  Surely,  if  the 
blessing  of  the  Saviour  rests  upon  those  who  are  per- 
secuted for  His  "  name's  sake,"  a  rich  reward  is  in 
store  for  these  sufferers — in  common  with  many 
others  of  their  dissenting  brethren. 

This  chapter  would  hardly  be  complete  without 
some  account  of  a  visit  to  the  Stundists  by  Joseph  J. 
Neave,  of  Sydney,  Australia,  and  John  Bellows,  of 


296 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


Gloucester,  England,  in  1S92.  The  former  had  a 
distinct  call  to  go  to  Kussia,  while  visiting  Friends 
in  Australia, 

He  was  in  Hobart,  Tasmania,  at  the  time,  and  his 
experience  is  thus  related  by  himself:  "  One  morning 
(early  in  1890),  in  reading  the  4Tth  Psalm,  before 
leaving  my  room,  my  mind  held  to  the  last  verse  as 
I  turned  in  quiet  toward  the  Lord:  '  The  shields  of 
the  earth  belong  unto  God.  He  is  greatly  exalted.' 
With  this  came  a  sense  wherein  I  seemed  able  to  see 
every  individual  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  the  world 
over,  and  His  protecting  power  about  them  as  a 
shield,  preserving  them  from  evil. 

While  meditating  on  this  wonderful  revelation, 
it  seemed  as  if  a  voice  in  my  ear  said,  '  Thou  shalt 
go  to  Russia.'  I  had  not  been  thinking  of  Russia, 
and  I  never  expected  to  go  to  a  people  who  could  not 
understand  my  speech.  I  said,  cannot;  it  is  im- 
possible.' Very  soon,  however,  I  was  able  to  say,  as 
I  felt  my  utter  unfitness  for  such  a  work.  ^  If  thou 
wilt  go  with  me  and  go  before  me — (this  the  Lord 
fulfilled  in  a  marvelous  manner  all  through  our  Rus- 
sian service), — I  will  go  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
if  it  be  Thy  will.'  "  In  the  course  of  a  year  the  way 
very  unexpectedly  opened  for  him  to  go  to  Europe, — 
by  a  woman  Eriend  in  England  leaving  him  $1,000. 
"  So  here  I  was,  with  the  money  in  my  hands,  from 
a  quarter  I  never  looked  for  anvthing  to  come  from. 
I  did  not  have  it  more  than  two  or  three  days  when 
I  saw  I  must  go  off  to  England  at  once."   As  a  vessel 


Joseph  James  Xeave. 

Hermann  Fast.  John  Bellows. 

(Interpreter.) 


THE  DISSENTERS. 


297 


was  about  to  sail  direct  for  London,  he  took  passage 
in  it  from  Lyttleton,  Xew  Zealand,  in  the  Fourth 
month  of  1892,  arriving  in  time  to  attend  the  Yearly 
Meeting  held  in  London. 

His  prospect  was  duly  presented  to  the  proper 
meetings  and  his  concern  approved  by  Friends.  One 
of  these  wrote  to  John  Bellows,  who  was  not  present : 
"  I  have  just  returned  from  the  morning  meeting, 
where  Friends  have  liberated  Joseph  J.  Neave  for 
religious  service  in  Russia,  of  which  prospect  no 
doubt  thou  hast  heard."  John  Bellows,  however,  had 
not  heard  of  it  previously,  but,  upon  reading  the  let- 
ter, he  did  hear  the  query  inwardly  addressed  to 
himself,  "  Lf  thou  shouldst  be  called  to  go  with  Jo- 
seph J.  Neave  to  Russia,  wouldst  thou  be  willing  to 
obey  ?  "  The  suggestion,  which  struck  him  with  sur- 
prise and  pain,  remained  with  him ;  but,  after  confer- 
ring with  his  wife,  and  being  fully  approved  by  the 
three  Friends  who  had  charge  of  carrying  out  the 
arrangements  for  Joseph  J.  ^Teave's  journey,  he  gave 
himself  up  for  the  service.  "  And  here  we  see  the 
wonderful  care  and  wisdom  of  God  who  brought  me," 
says  Joseph  J.  ^^eave,  "  from  Australia  to  open  a 
gate  for  the  right  man  to  go  through: — all  in  that 
perfect  order  and  wisdom  which  reveals  the  faithful- 
ness of  Him  who  is  ever  ready  to  guide  a  church  or 
an  individual  whose  hope  and  trust  is  in  Him.  Dear 
John  Bellows  was  admirably  fitted  for  the  delicate 
and  difficult  service  that  lay  before  us,  and  so  we 


298 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


worked  together  in  much,  harmony  throughout  the 
whole  of  our  journejings." 

After  these  preliminary  arrangements  were  per- 
fected, Joseph  J.  Xeave  and  John  Bellows  went  to 
St.  Petersburg,  and  obtained  the  necessary  liberty 
to  visit  the  persecuted  dissenters  in  Southern  Rus- 
sia. In  the  course  of  six  months  they  reached  the 
Caucasus,  and  found  Prince  D.  A.  Hilkov  among  the 
Doukhobors,  as  he  had  been  exiled  to  that  province 
a  few  years  before  their  visit.  As  previously  stated, 
the  Prince  had  given  up  his  sword  in  1877,  as  the 
result  of  a  deep  conviction  that  the  profession  of  a 
soldier  was  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  the  New 
Testament.  His  interest  in  the  Universal  Brother- 
hood opened  the  acquaintance  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  in  England  with  the  Doukhobors. 


CHAPTEK  V. 

THE  MIR  (mEEr). 

Many  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  Doukhobors  be- 
come clearer  to  us  if  we  understand  some  of  their 
national  institutions.  From  time  immemorial  the 
Village  Commune,  or  Mir,  has  been  a  unique  Slav- 
onic institution.  This  form  of  government  includes 
five-sixths  of  the  entire  population  in  European  Rus- 
sia, and  is  one  of  the  most  democratic  in  the  world. 
Without  any  written  law,  its  authority  is  recognized 
as  equally  binding  upon  every  member  of  the  com- 
munity. The  methods  of  different  communities  vary 
much,  and  yet  some  salient  features  are  common  to 
them  all. 

The  rural  population  of  Russia  is  scattered  over  an 
immense  territory,  and  the  arable  land  is  in  excess  of 
the  needs  of  the  people. 

The  peasants  all  live  in  villages  and  farm  the  ad- 
jacent land.  The  Mir  was  primarily  instituted  in 
order  to  secure  the  payment  of  taxes  due  to  the  Im- 
perial Government,  and  each  village  is  held  responsi- 
ble for  a  certain  sum,  so  large  as  in  many  cases  to- 
impoverish  it.  The  taxation  is  based  upon  the  num- 
ber of  "  revision  souls,"  or  men  registered  on  a  cen- 
sus list  made  up  at  regular  intervals,  averaging  about 
once  in  fifteen  years. 

The  Village  Assembly  is  composed  of  heads  of 
households,  who  meet  frequently  (preferably  on  the 


300 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  RUSSIA. 


first  day  of  the  week)  to  discuss  the  affairs,  civil  and 
domestic,  of  the  Communitv.  Xo  nobleman  is  ad- 
mitted into  membership.  An  Elder,  or  "  Starosta,'' 
is  selected  from  the  peasants  assembled,  whose  duties 
correspond  somewhat  to  those  of  a  Chairman  or 
Speaker  in  an  English-speaking  gathering  for  similar 
purposes,  with  this  difference, — the  lowest  State  offi- 
cial may  at  any  moment  supersede  or  suspend  the 
elder's  functions.  His  only  mark  of  distinction  is  a 
bronze  medal  hung  about  his  neck,  as  the  insignia  of 
his  office, — a  trifling  compensation  for  the  onerous 
duties  of  his  position.  The  most  important  of  these 
is  the  distribution  of  the  communal  lands  among  the 
families  of  each  village. 

In  order  to  understand  this  allotment,  it  may  be 
well  to  explain  that  each  rural  district  has  three 
divisions  of  its  property,  viz. :  the  land  on  which  the 
village  is  built,  the  portion  to  be  cultivated,  and  that 
which  is  reserved  for  pasturage  or  hay-making.  The 
sites  of  the  buildings  and  the  surrounding  gardens 
are  the  hereditary  property  of  the  family  occupying 
the  same,  and  are  not  affected  by  the  periodical  re- 
distributions of  the  other  land.  The  arable  and 
meadow  lands  are  apportioned  somewhat  differently. 

The  whole  of  the  land  to  be  plowed  is  first  divided 
into  three  fields,  to  suit  the  triennial  rotation  of 
crops,  and  these  again  into  sections,  until  every 
household  can  have  at  least  one  strip  in  each  field, 
so  as  to  insure  some  equality  of  soil.  This  is  done  by 
the  peasants  with  measuring  rods,  and  with  remarka- 


THE  MIR. 


301 


ble  accuracy.  The  ground  to  be  used  for  hay-making 
is  divided  in  like  manner,  except  that  the  division  is 
made  annually. 

Every  year,  on  the  day  fixed  by  the  Assembly,  the 
whole  community  of  men  proceed  to  the  harvest 
field,  where,  by  casting  lots,  they  determine  what 
each  man  shall  cut.  Each  family  can  sow  any  seed, 
according  to  choice,  but  none  may  cut  hay  independ- 
ently. One  of  the  most  interesting  and  picturesque 
scenes  is  that  of  the  villagers,  both  men  and  women, 
chanting  as  they  work  together  or  return  from  the 
field. 

The  Mir  supplies  conscripts  to  the  standing  army, 
and  has  power  to  banish  its  members  to  Siberia  or  to 
call  them  home  from  any  place  where  they  have  set- 
tled. This  power  has  sometimes  been  abused  in 
order  to  extort  money  from  its  absent  members,  who 
would  rather  pay  a  considerable  sum  than  undergo 
the  inconvenience  of  travel. 

One  curious  feature  of  this  institution  is  the  un- 
reserved obedience  its  members  yield  to  its  decisions. 
D.  M.  Wallace  says :  "  I  know  of  many  instances 
where  peasants  have  set  at  defiance  the  power  of  the 
police,  of  the  provincial  government  and  of  the  cen- 
tral government  itself,  but  I  have  never  heard  of  any 
instance  where  the  will  of  the  Mir  was  opposed  by 
one  of  its  members."  The  money  is  paid  to  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  land  on  the  instalment  plan;  and  the 
burden  of  this,  in  addition  to  the  government  tax, 
falls  pretty  heavily  upon  the  sons  of  the  soil,  and  f re- 


-302 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  TX  RUSSIA. 


quently  a  peasant^s  cow  or  horse  is  seized  by  the  tax- 
gatherer  because  some  deficit  appears  in  the  accounts 
of  the  Headman. 

Every  married  man  and  every  widow  must  hold 
land,  and  if  any  wish  to  migrate,  some  satisfactory 
arrangement  must  be  made  with  the  Community  in 
order  that  his  share  of  the  taxes  shall  be  paid. 

Courts  for  the  trial  of  persons  guilty  of  minor  of- 
fences can  be  held  by  the  J/zr,  but  the  government 
police  keep  a  surveillance  over  its  action. 

As  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  Community  may  be 
interfered  with  by  the  Starosta,  much  annoyance 
may  come  to  the  presiding  officer;  and,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  responsibility  of  the  position  renders  it  quite 
unpopular. 

One  of  these  meetings  is  a  most  entertaining  spec- 
tacle. It  is  thus  graphically  described  by  Wallace: 
"  The  peasants,  male  and  female,  have  turned  out  in 
Sunday  attire,  the  bright  costumes  of  the  women 
helping  the  sunshine  to  put  a  little  rich  color  into  the 
scene,  which  is  at  ordinary  times  monotonously  gray. 
Slowly  the  crowd  collects  in  the  open  space  at  the 
•side  of  the  church.  There  are  women  present  who, 
on  account  of  the  absence  or  the  death  of  their  hus- 
bands, happen  to  be  heads  of  households:  as  such, 
their  right  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations  is  never 
called  in  question.  In  matters  affecting  the  general 
welfare  of  the  Commune  they  seldom  speak,  remem- 
bering the  Russian  adage  applied  to  their  sex, 
^  Woman's  hair  is  long,  but  her  mind  is  short.'  Yet 


THE  .MIR. 


303 


as  the  head  of  a  household  they  may  speak  freely  on 
any  subject  directly  affecting  their  homes.  For  in- 
stance, when  it  is  proposed  to  increase  or  diminish 
her  household's  share  of  the  land  and  the  burdens 
the  woman  may  speak.  A  typical  scene  is  that  of 
three  peasants  and  a  woman  standing  a  little  apart 
from  the  crowd;  the  woman  explaining  with  tears  in 
her  eyes  that  her  ^  old  man/  who  is  Elder  for  the 
time  being,  is  very  ill  and  cannot  fulfil  his  duties. 
^  But  he  has  not  served  a  year  yet,  and  he'll  get  bet- 
ter.' ^  Who  knows  ? '  replies  the  woman,  sobbing. 
^  It  is  the  will  of  God,  but  I  don't  believe  that  he'll 
ever  put  his  foot  to  the  ground  again.'  ^  Very  well; 
that's  enough;  hold  thy  tongue,'  says  the  graybeard 
of  the  little  group  to  the  woman;  and  then,  turning 
to  the  other  peasants,  remarks,  ^  There's  nothing  to 
be  done.  The  Stanovoi  (officer  of  the  rural  police) 
will  be  here  one  of  these  days  and  will  make  a  row 
again  if  we  don't  select  a  new  Elder;  there  is  Alexei 
Ivanov;  he  has  not  served  yet !  '  ^  Yes,  yes;  Alexei 
Ivanov,'  shout  half  a  dozen  voices,  while  he  protests 
in  the  strongest  terms,  giving  half  a  dozen  reasons 
why  he  should  not  be  chosen.  But  his  protestations 
are  not  listened  to,  and  the  proceedings  terminate. 
A  new  village  Elder  has  been  duly  elected." 

In  the  main,  the  decisions  of  these  assemblies  are 
marked  by  plain,  practical  common  sense,  the  most 
disturbing  influence  being  that  of  alcohol,  and  even 
under  its  stimulation  the  members  seldom  come  to 
blows,  for  there  is  no  class  of  men  in  the  world  more 


304 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  Ilf  RUSSIA. 


good-natured  and  pacific  than  are  these  Russian 
Moujiks. 

There  are  certain  disadvantages  connected  with 
the  communal  system,  which  arise  from  the  redis- 
tribution of  land;  those  who  have  improved  their 
shares  by  cultivation  and  manuring  losing  the  benefit 
of  their  labor,  unless  the  land  apportioned  to  them 
has  been  equally  well  tilled. 

The  members  of  a  family  all  farm  together  year 
by  year  when  at  home,  and  when  earning  money 
elsewhere  are  expected  to  put  their  money  into  a 
common  purse.  The  households  composing  the  vil- 
lage commune  farm  independently,  and  pay  into  the 
common  treasury  a  fixed  sum. 

Xotwithstanding  the  restrictions  put  upon  indi- 
vidual o\vnership,  this  system  of  land  tenure  has 
secured  a  home  to  the  Russian  peasant  when  he  has 
gone  into  neighboring  communities,  or  has  sought 
employment  in  towns.  In  this  way  he  became,  in 
many  instances,  half  peasant,  half  artisan. 

The  peasant  might  work  most  of  his  life  in  towns, 
but  he  never  severed  his  connection  with  his  native 
village;  he  remained,  whether  he  desired  it  or  not, 
a  member  of  the  Commune,  possessing  a  share  of  the 
communal  land,  and  liable  for  a  share  of  the  com- 
munal burdens.  Manufacturers  in  Russia  have 
sometimes  allowed  their  employees  to  go  home  to 
mow  their  strip  of  grass  or  to  sow  a  few  acres  of 
wheat. 


CHAPTER  YI. 


THE  GOVERNMENT  OFFICIALS. 

There  are  ten  ministers  and  five  assistant  minis- 
ters in  the  Russian  Cabinet.  These  are  not  servants 
of  the  public,  but  of  the  Tsar;  their  duty  being  to 
carry  out  his  personal  will  in  their  several  depart- 
ments. When  a  law  is  to  be  made,  custom  and  the 
statute-book  require  that  it  should  be  submitted  to 
a  committee  of  ministers;  if  approved  by  them,  or 
by  a  majority  of  them,  it  is  passed  on  to  the  Imperial 
Council;  and  if  it  there  secures  approval,  it  is  laid 
before  the  Tsar,  who  signs  it  or  not  as  it  meets  his 
views.  These  formalities,  however,  are  sometimes 
dispensed  with,  especially  when  the  enactment  in 
question  is  one  not  likely  to  secure  the  approval  of 
a  majority  of  the  ministers.  Such,  for  instance,  was 
the  edict  expelling  the  Jews  from  Moscow,  which  was 
decreed  without  asking  the  advice  of  the  ministers 
or  of  the  Imperial  Council.  It  was  promulgated 
after  a  report  handed  in  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  who  had  been  encouraged  to  take  this  step 
by  the  Grand  Duke  Sergius  Alexandrovitch,  brother 
of  the  Emperor,  and  in  some  respects  a  reproduction 
of  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine  Paulovitch  of  a  pre- 
ceding generation. 

Another  illustration  of  this  Imperial  action — one 
that  has  done  the  most  to  undo  the  reform  set  on 
foot  after  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs — was  the 


306 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IX  RUSSIA. 


edict  which  practically  effaced  the  Zemstvos,  or  Pro- 
vincial Assemblies,  and  in  their  place  set  over  the  vil- 
lage communities  what  are  called  district  command- 
ers. This  measure,  which  has  produced  a  radical 
transformation  in  the  entire  internal  organization  of 
the  empire,  was  made  law  by  Alexander  III.,  in  op- 
position to  the  votes  of  his  ministers  and  council. 

The  district  commander  must  be  an  hereditary 
noble.  He  is  appointed  by  the  Government,  and 
need  not  be  in  any  way  connected  with  the  district 
which  he  is  to  govern.  His  functions  are  those  of 
both  administrator  and  judge.  His  duty  is  to  see 
that  no  MiJ'  goes  contrary  to  the  Emperor's  policy. 

The  agents  of  the  district  governor  are  the  police. 
It  is  the  reintroduction  of  centralized  bureaucracy 
into  the  rural  districts — setting  over  the  emancipated 
serf  the  Mir  and  the  commander  of  the  district,  in 
place  of  his  hereditary  master  and  the  headman  of 
his  village. 

Ministers  need  not  agree  with  each  other's  views, 
but,  happily,  since  the  late  students'  troubles,  when 
the  Tsar  vindictively  ordered  some  of  them  to  be 
sent  to  Port  Arthur  as  soldiers — from  which  service 
students  had  long  been  exempt — his  ministers  have 
discussed  and  disapproved  this  edict.  They  have 
compelled  him  to  ^vithdraw  his  uhase  committing  stu- 
dents to  the  army,  and  have  prevented  him  from  de- 
claring a  state  of  siege  at  St.  Petersburg.  They  also 
demanded  of  him  the  dismissal  and  practical  exile  of 
the  prefect  de  police,  General  Cleighills,  of  St.  Peters- 


THE  GOVERNMENT  OFFICIALS. 


307 


burg,  who  directed  the  Cossacks  to  use  their  mur- 
derous nagaikis,  or  lead-weighted  horsewhips,  upon 
the  heads  of  the  students,  so  that  nineteen  of  them 
were  killed,  and  six  hundred  of  the  literati  were 
taken  from  their  homes  and  committed  to  prison  be- 
cause of  their  sympathy  with  the  students.  Prince 
Kropotkin  says  in  this  connection:  "  The  importance 
of  these  three  steps  cannot  be  overrated.  For  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  Russia,  for  the  last  one 
hundred  years,  the  Committee  of  the  Ministers  has 
discussed  the  orders  of  the  Tsar,  and  disapproved 
them,  acquiring  thus  a  power  which  it  never  had  be- 
fore, and  taking  a  responsibility  before  the  country 
and  not  before  the  Tsar. 

"  These  are  evidently  the  first  germs  of  constitu- 
tional rule  which  will  necessarily  bring  about  fur- 
ther ones."— (T/ie  Outlooh,  April  6th,  1901,  p.  764.) 

"  Russia  must  be  for  the  Russians  "  has  been  the 
imperial  maxim  for  two  decades,  and  this  means  that 
in  all  that  vast  empire,  embracing  many  races,  na- 
tions and  religions,  there  shall  be  only  one  faith, — 
that  of  the  Grseco-Russian  Church,  of  which  the  Em- 
peror is  the  appointed  head.  It  also  means  that  the 
Tsar's  will,  as  set  forth  in  his  ukases  and  carried  out 
by  the  one  hundred  thousand  officials  of  his  kingdom 
— through  whom  it  percolates  to  the  people — must 
be  absolute  and  paramount.  And  that  which  proves 
a  yet  more  galling  yoke  to  his  subjects  is  his  effort 
to  Russify  all  the  national  institutions  which  they 
have  inherited  from  their  ancestors. 


308 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IX  RUSSIA. 


Thus  the  Mir — the  Slavonic  village  system — has 
been  forced  upon  the  Poles,  the  Finns,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Baltic  Provinces;  while  the  Jews 
are  to  be  wiped  out  of  the  empire  as  speedily  as  may 
be,  and  Lutherans,  Catholics  and  orthodox  dissenters 
are  to  realize  that  they  cannot  live  comfortably  in 
Holy  Russia.  Xone  of  these  can  hold  any  govern- 
mental position,  because  of  their  dissent  from  the 
state  religion.  As  near  as  possible  it  is  to  be  an  em- 
pire for  Slavs  only — a  crusade  against  modern  prog- 
ress. The  person  whose  indirect  influence  has  been 
most  powerful  with  the  present  Tsar  and  his  father 
is  Constantine  Pobiedonostzev,  the  Procurator"^  of 
the  Holy  Synod,  and  a  man  whose  ideals  of  states- 
manship are  worthy  of  a  Torquemada. 

Half  the  ministers  of  Alexander  III.  owed  their 
nominations  to  his  influence,  and  he  is  scarcely  less 
influential  with  Xicholas  11.  Without  being  a  re- 
ligious enthusiast,  he  has  conceived  the  sacred  duty 
of  coercing  men's  consciences  in  order  to  conserve 
the  interests  of  the  state.  He  holds  that  Russia  was 
once  saved  by  the  Church,  in  a  critical  national 
period,  and  so  his  duty  is  now  to  safeguard  that 
Church  against  anything  which  will  menace  its 
security  and  unity.  Thus  the  name  of  this  omnipo- 
tent ecclesiastical  statesman  is  whispered  with  mys- 
terious awe,  throughout  that  land  of  religious  and 
political  intolerance. 


*  Now  happily  retired  from  his  prociiratorship. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RUSSIAN  POLITICAL  HISTORY  862-1901. 

Rightly  to  understand  the  present  autocratic  rule 
in  Russia  we  must  go  back  to  the  ninth  century, 
when  the  Slavs  who  were  settled  about  ^Novgorod 
concluded  to  invite  certain  Scandinavian  Princes  to 
come  over  and  govern  them.  In  A.D.  862,  they  sent 
over  the  sea  to  the  Varyags,  saying:  "  Our  land  is 
rich  and  large,  but  there  is  no  order  in  it.  Come  and 
be  our  princes  and  rule  over  us.'' 

This  was  a  unique  invitation,  but  accepted  in  good 
faith  on  the  part  of  Princes  and  people.  Three 
brothers  responded.  Rurik  (Rorikr  in  Scandina- 
vian), the  oldest  of  them,  soon  became  sole  ruler  of 
the  Russian  country.  It  was  under  his  administra- 
tion that  the  Slav  tribes  came  to  be  known  as  Russi, 
or  Russians.  His  brother  Oleg  (879-913)  attacked 
the  southern  Slavs  by  force  and  chose  Kiev  for  the 
capital  of  Russia. 

The  centralizing  effect  was  soon  apparent  and  con- 
tinuous. The  quarrels  between  Commune  and  Com- 
mune,— Volost  and  Volostj — which  made  the  old  or- 
der unendurable,  subsided.  Apart,  however,  from 
administrative  benefits  which  it  has  conferred — in- 
cluding social  and  juridical  ideas — the  Varyag 
princes  did  not  greatly  impress  their  subjects.  They 
did  not  attempt  to  modify  the  language,  as  the  Nor- 
mans did  the  English,  nor  introduce  the  ISTorse 


310 


THE  DOUKHOBOKS  IX  RUSSIA. 


tongue  among  the  Slavs,  but  left  them  a  military 
system  which  has  lasted  a  thousand  years,  and  has 
been  the  bane  of  the  nation. 

From  the  tenth  to  the  twelfth  century,  inclusive, 
Russia  was  largely  made  up  of  federated  republics  in 
the  form  of  trade  guilds.  The  most  important  of 
these  was  that  of  Novgorod,  claiming  one  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  with  three  hundred  thousand 
more  of  subject  populations.  This  republic  had  a 
democratic  form  of  government,  and  compelled  the 
ruling  Premier  to  respect  the  popular  assembly. 

In  all  these  republics  the  assembly  could  call  and 
dismiss  the  Premier  at  will,  and  they  gave  the  final 
word  in  war  and  peace.  This,  then,  was  a  larger  de- 
gree of  independence  than  was  possible  under  the  old 
regime. 

Under  this  system  of  sharing  the  land  among  the 
princes  there  were  three  distinct  ideas  struggling  for 
the  mastery, — the  Slavonic  custom,  which  prevailed 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Varyags,  that  of  bestowing 
the  highest  dignity  in  the  gift  of  the  gens  or  family 
on  the  oldest  member;  the  Scandinavian  custom  of 
dividing  out  the  land  to  the  successor  of  the  prince, 
and  the  western  idea  of  primogeniture,  introduced  by 
way  of  Byzantium.  This  conflict  would  have  proved 
fatal  to  the  national  authority  had  not  a  new  capital 
been  founded,  as  well  as  a  new  dynasty,  and  that  is 
just  what  came  about  when  Andrei  Bogolubsky 
marched  against  the  beautiful  city  of  Kiev  ^Mother 
of  Russian  cities")  in  1169,  took  it  by  assault  and 


RUSSIAN  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 


311 


gave  it  over  to  pillage.  Thenceforth  the  power  of  a 
single  monarch  was  to  be  recognized,  whether  under 
Tartar  or  Romanov  rule. 

Moscow,  in  the  forest  to  the  northeast,  was  built 
for  the  purpose  of  changing  the  old  regime. 

The  Tartars,  under  Ghengis  Khan,  sacked  Kiev  in 
1240,  and  from  that  time  until  this  "  galling  yoke  " 
was  broken  by  Ivan  the  Terrible,  in  1480,  the  Khan, 
whose  residence  was  at  Sarai,  assumed  the  right  to 
dispense  the  Russian  principalities,  or  "  shares/'  to 
persons  of  his  own  choice — as  often  to  a  Tartar-Mon- 
gol as  to  a  prince  of  the  Rurik  family. 

The  poor  of  the  land,  who  have  always  been  in  the 
vast  majority,  suffered  greatly  under  the  Tartar 
domination,  as  a  capitation  tax  was  imposed  and  col- 
lected from  house  to  house  with  immediate  enslave- 
ment in  default  of  its  payment.  Many  debtors  were 
mercilessly  beaten  before  being  sold  into  slavery,  and 
it  was  a  great  relief  to  Russia  when  the  princes,  in 
stead  of  the  haskahis  (Tartar  tax  collectors)  were  or- 
dered to  collect  the  tribute  themselves  and  hand  it 
over  to  their  oriental  masters  at  Sarai. 

The  Tartar  invasion  considerably  affected  the  his- 
torical development  and  national  character  of  the 
Russian  people,  but  the  Tartars  did  not  attempt  to 
Tartarize  the  Russians,  but  allowed  them  to  retain 
their  land,  their  language,  their  courts  of  justice,  and 
all  their  other  institutions,  as  long  as  they  were  will- 
ing to  acknowledge  the  Mongol  authority  and  pay 
their  specified  tribute, 


312 


THE  DOFKHOBORS  IX  EUSSIA. 


Had  the  Khans  of  the  Golden  Horde  been  pru- 
dent, far-seeing  statesmen,  thev  might  have  long  re- 
tained their  supremacv  over  Russia,  by  keeping  its 
princes  on  the  same  level.  But  by  favoring  some 
more  more  than  others  the  entering  Tvedge  of  jeal- 
ousy finally  proved  able  to  secure  independence. 
Meanwhile  the  Tartar  rule  interrupted  that  normal 
development  of  democracy,  which  has  been  the  crown 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  by  extinguishing  all  free 
political  life.  The  Grand  Princes  of  Moscovy 
were  the  political  descendants,  not  of  the  old  inde- 
pendent Princes,  but  of  the  Tartar  Khans,  their  auto- 
cratic power  being,  in  a  sense,  created  by  the  Tartar 
domination. 

"  The  position  of  the  Christians  imder  the  Khan 
of  the  Golden  Horde  was  analogous  to  that  now  held 
by  Christians  in  Turkey." — (Wallace.) 

From  the  founding  of  Moscow,  about  the  middle 
of  the  twelfth  century,  to  Ivan  the  Terrible  (1533-i), 
there  was  a  constant  tendency  to  disregard  individual 
rights  and  those  of  the  Popular  Assembly.  Ivan, 
most  a2:)propriately  called  "  The  Terrible,"  was  the 
first  to  assume  the  title  of  Tsar.  He  was  the  very 
culmination  of  despotism — a  typical  madman  on  the 
throne. 

We  would  not  wish  to  follow  the  details  of  his  in- 
human acts,  but  only  to  point  out  that  the  trend  of 
his  autocratic  regime  gradually  brought  under  one 
central  authority  all  the  free  republics  of  Russia .  and 
substituted  for  the  Slav  custom  of  possession  bv  the 


IIUSSIAN  rOLITICAL  HISTORY. 


313 


genSy  the  present  system  of  a  personal  right,  on  the 
part  of  the  Tsar,  to  all  the  land,  and  a  paternal  feel- 
ing toward  his  subjects  not  at  all  consistent  with 
their  freedom. 

"  Besides  being  merely  the  holder  during  his  life- 
time of  possessions  which  belonged  to  the  whole  fam- 
ily of  Princes,  he  had  become  the  absolute  owner  of 
those  possessions.  Meanwhile  the  people  once  his 
subjects  were  now  literally  the  slaves  of  a  monarch 
invested  with  absolute  power  over  their  lives." — (E. 
Noble.) 

In  the  century  between  the  death  of  Ivan  the  Ter- 
rible (1584)  and  Peter  the  Great  (1689)  the  Ko- 
manovs  displaced  the  Rurik  dynasty. 

The  first  Romanov  Tsar  was  elected  by  a  council 
of  Princes  in  1613.  His  grandson,  Peter  the  Great, 
sought  to  introduce  the  western  idea  of  civilization 
among  his  subjects,  but  the  time  was  not  ripe,  and 
his  efforts  at  reform,  while  successful  in  creating  d 
marvelous  city  in  a  swamp,  did  not  permeate  the 
masses  of  the  people.  He  cared  little  for  their  re- 
ligious opinions  so  long  as  they  replenished  his  ex- 
chequer. Thus  those  who  were  more  devout  re- 
garded him  as  the  incarnate  spirit  of  evil. 

In  1705  new  regulations  in  regard  to  dress  were 
enforced  without  exception.  The  luxuriant  Russian 
beard  had  to  give  way  to  the  reforming  razor  of  a 
monarch  to  whom  all  memorials  of  ancient  Russia 
were  odious.  People  who  regarded  the  beard  as  sa- 
cred, such  as  the  sectarians,  were  allowed  to  com- 


314 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  RUSSIA. 


pound  for  its  retention  by  paying  one  hundred  rou- 
bles annually,  and  by  wearing  a  receipt  for  the 
money  in  the  form  of  a  medal,  on  one  side  of  which 
was  inscribed,  "  The  beard  is  a  useless  embarrass- 
ment." 

He  also  tried  to  abolish  the  old  practice  of  falling 
on  the  knees  as  the  imperial  carriage  passed,  as  well 
as  of  beating  the  head  against  the  ground,  remark- 
ing, "  The  honor  due  to  me  consists  in  people  crawl- 
ing before  me  less  and  in  serving  me  and  the  state 
with  more  zeal  and  fidelity." 

Peter  made  complete  the  subjection  of  the  Church 
to  the  State  (1691),  abolishing  the  patriarchate  and 
founding  the  Holy  Synod  at  St.  Petersburg.  The 
fortunes  of  the  peasantry  suffered  between  his  death 
(1725)  and  the  accession  of  Catharine  IL,  in  1762. 

This  gifted  woman  did  much  to  lift  the  disabihties 
of  the  dissenters  from  the  Orthodox  Church,  and  she 
invited  foreigners  to  reside  within  her  realm.  She 
gave  up  the  German  Protestant  faith  to  identify  her- 
self more  fully  with  the  Russians,  and  was  w^ont  to 
say,  "  Freedom,  thou  soul  of  all  things,  without  thee 
everything  is  dead."  "  I  want  the  laws  obeyed,  but 
I  don't  want  to  have  slaves."  "  If  you  have  truth 
and  reason  as  allies,  you  can  give  them  to  the  peo- 
ple." "  Her  tolerance  toward  the  sectarians  not  only 
protected  them  from  the  fanaticism  of  the  ecclesias- 
tics, but  secured  for  them  certain  rights." — (Xoble.) 

Passing  over  the  short  reign  of  Paul,  sometimes 
called  The  Mad,  who  was  strangled  by  his  courtiers, 


RUSSIAN  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 


315 


to  his  son  Alexander  I.  (known  as  "  The  Blessed 
we  find  he  followed  up  this  humane  policy  of  Catha- 
rine. He  abolished  torture,  put  an  end  to  confisca- 
tion of  property,  restricted  the  appKcation  of  cor- 
poral punishment,  reduced  taxation,  reformed  the 
criminal  code,  and  founded  schools  and  universities. 

This  unified  empire  was  doubtless  an  improvement 
on  the  divided  federal  arrangements  of  the  Rurik 
family;  the  autocracy  of  the  Tsars  was  better  than 
the  incessant  civil  war  in  which  the  country  was  held 
by  the  Varyag  princes.  "  Yet  the  amelioration  thus 
secured  was  purchased  at  an  enormous  price,  and  its 
burden  fell,  not  on  the  high  and  mighty,  in  whose  in- 
terest the  state  was  magnified  and  embellished,  but 
upon  the  humbled  and  yet  withal  the  largest  class  in 
the  empire — the  peasantry." 

"  It  is  the  contrast  between  the  degradation  of  this 
class  and  the  luxurious  magnificence  which  it  fed 
through  centuries  of  serfdom  that  makes  the  story  of 
the  common  people — originally  called  the  Smerdi, 
^  ill-smelling,'  the  ^  black  '  people — one  of  the  most 
tragic  chapters  in  Russian  history." — (^N'oble.) 

Just  such  a  chapter  was  inaugurated  by  the  acces- 
sion of  Nicholas  L,  upon  the  death  of  his  brother 
Alexander  I.,  in  1825,  his  elder  brother  Constan- 
tino having  relinquished  his  right  to  the  throne  in  or- 
der to  marry  the  woman  of  his  choice.  Mcholas 
proposed  to  carry  out  the  plans  of  Peter  the  Great, 
to  make  Russia  the  greatest  military  power  in 
Europe,  and  to  extend  his  dominions  into  Asia. 


316 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  EUSSIA. 


Everything  in  his  vast  empire  was  made  subservient 
to  this  imperial  end.  The  Caucasus  lay  in  his  way, 
and  he  bent  his  energies  to  reduce  it  to  subjection. 

As  this  country  has  recently  been  brought  to  our 
notice  as  a  former  home  of  the  Doukhobors,  it  may 
be  in  place  to  say  that  Georgia,  Circassia,  Mingrelia, 
Daghestan,  Russian  Armenia,  Ehristan  and  Kara- 
back  are  all  included  within  its  boundaries,  and  that 
the  Caucasian  Mountains  run  through  it  diagonally 
from  the  shores  of  the  Caspian  to  those  of  the  Black 
Sea.  Since  1802  disaffected  troops  and  political 
prisoners,  to  say  nothing  of  thousands  of  dissenters 
from  the  Russian  Church,  have  found  their  graves 
in  its  frontiers.  One  of  the  bravest  defenders  of 
that  country  was  the  Caucasian  Prophet-chief 
Schamyl,  who  held  the  Russians  at  bay  for  twenty- 
five  years;  and  when  he  surrendered,  in  1859,  he  was 
pensioned  by  the  Russian  government.  He  after- 
wards lived  at  Kalooga  on  the  Oka  as  an  inti- 
mate friend  of  the  imperial  family,  because  of 
his  personal  attachment  to  the  Tsar,  who  treated  him 
so  humanely. 

The  inhabitants  are  a  mixture  of  many  races,  no 
less  than  seventy  languages  being  spoken  in  Tiflis 
alone.  Some  of  these  tribes  have  been  there  from 
time  immemorial,  while  others  are  thought  to  be  the 
descendants  of  the  crusaders.  Their  complexion  and 
features  are  European,  their  dress  and  military 
equipments  are  mediaeval  rather  than  Asiatic,  and 
though  Russia  nominally  owns  the  country,  with  its 


JSchamyl, 

The  Circassian  Chief  and  Prophet,  1797-1871. 


RUSSIAN  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 


317 


mountain  fastnesses  and  pastures  and  fruitful  val- 
leys, its  inhabitants  are  only  partially  subdued,  and 
they  have  long  successfully  resisted  the  invasion  of 
their  Slavonic  neighbors. 

Queen  Victoria's  estimate  of  Tsar  Nicholas  I., 
after  his  visit  to  her  in  1844,  is  interesting  and  doubt- 
less correct,  viz. :  "  There  is  much  about  him  that  I 
cannot  help  liking,  and  I  think  his  character  is  one 
that  should  be  understood  and  looked  upon  for  once 
as  it  is.  He  is  stern,  reserved,  with  strict  principles, 
which  nothing  on  earth  can  make  him  change.  Very 
clever  I  do  not  think  him,  and  his  mind  is  not  a  cul- 
tivated one ;  his  education  has  been  neglected.  He  is 
not,  I  am  sure,  aware  of  the  dreadful  cases  of  indi- 
vidual misery  that  he  often  causes,  for  I  can  see  by 
various  instances  that  he  is  kept  in  ignorance  of 
many  things,  although  he  thinks  he  is  very  just.  His 
feelings  are  strong.  He  feels  kindness  deeply,  and 
his  love  for  his  children,  indeed  for  all  children,  is 
very  great." 

Alexander  II.  did  not  resemble  his  father  in  dis- 
position, and  it  is  said  that  his  mildness  w^as  a  great 
disappointment  and  annoyance  to  the  Emperor 
Nicholas.  He  is  described  as  a  kind-hearted,  liberal- 
minded  man,  although  a  despot.  There  w^as  a  great 
contrast  between  him  and  the  stern,  stiff,  sergeant- 
major-like  bearing  of  his  father.  Every  inch  of  him 
bespoke  the  well-bred  nobleman;  very  rich,  very 
good-tempered,  affectionate  to  his  children,  a  man 


318 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IN  RUSSIA. 


fond  of  a  good  dinner,  of  shooting,  of  hunting,  and  of 
making  everybody  comfortable — himself  included. 

During  his  reign  a  marvelous  amount  of  reform 
was  set  on  foot.  The  emancipation  act  of  1861  lib- 
erated fifty  million  serfs,  at  a  cost  to  the  government 
of  $500,000,000.  One  expression  in  a  manifesto  that 
he  issued  to  the  people  has  a  very  different  note  from 
that  characterizing  the  usual  imperial  ukase.  "  By 
the  combined  efforts  of  the  government  and 
the  peophj  I  hope,"  said  he,  "  the  public  admin- 
istration will  be  improved,  and  that  justice  and 
mercy  will  reign  in  the  courts  of  law." 

When  Alexander  11.  came  to  his  throne  (1856), 
Hussia  had  not  recovered  from  the  Crimean  war — 
that  most  inexcusable  international  blunder  and 
erime.  The  methods  in  vogue  throughout  the  agri- 
cultural districts  were  primitive.  There  were  only 
six  hundred  miles  of  railroad,  and  hardly  any  other 
roads  worthy  of  the  name  over  an  enormous  terri- 
tory. "  The  Emperor  applied  himself  at  once  to  the 
peaceful  work  of  reform,  and  carried  it  out  with 
skill,  tact,  and,  above  all,  with  an  ease  which  a 
foreign  people  is  hardly  able,  at  present,  to  appreci- 
ate." In  twenty-five  years  a  work  was  done  in  Rus- 
sia which  it  has  taken  a  century  to  accomplish  in 
England.  Every  town  of  any  size  has  now  its  rail- 
road connections,  and  steamers  ply  upon  the  rivers, 
even  of  Siberia.  Gladstone  says  of  this  monarch, 
after  his  assassination :  "  The  sole  labor  of  a  devoted 
life  was  with  the  deceased  sovereign  to  improve  his 


RUSSIAN  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 


319 


inheritance  for  the  benefit  of  his  subjects  and  of  man- 
kind.'' He  recognized  the  herculean  task  he  had  un- 
dertaken, for,  in  1879,  he  said,  in  a  speech:  "  We 
have  great  tasks  yet  before  us.  There  is  much  more 
to  be  done  which  must  wait  until  the  existing  pas- 
sions are  appeased.  If  I  must  die  before  such  re- 
forms are  accomplished,  I  trust  they  will  be  carrieu 
out  bj  my  successor." 

Had  Alexander  III.  used  the  supreme  moment 
which  Providence  placed  in  his  hands,  to  promulgate 
the  Constitution  his  father  had  signed  and  ordered 
to  be  published  on  the  morrow;*  if  he  had  kept  his 
first  resolution  to  change  nothing  in  this  beneficent 
instrument  of  reform,  saying  to  his  minister,  Loris- 
Melikov,  "  This  shall  be  my  father's  bequest  to  his 
people,"  his  name  w^ould  have  gone  dowTi  to  poster- 
ity with  praise,  and  the  cause  of  religious  and  civil 
freedom  would  have  been  advanced  among  his  one 
hundred  million  subjects."  How  often  in  human 
history  has  the  action  of  a  moment  seemed  to  decide 
the  destiny  of  a  nation !  If  one  were  disposed  to  be 
fatalistic  such  an  event  as  this  might  tend  to  con- 
firm the  thought,  but  the  law  of  human  progress  can- 


*  "  I  have  just  signed  a  paper,  which  I  hope  will  produce 
a  good  impression  upon  Russia  and  show  that  I  am  ready 
to  give  her  all  that  it  is  possible  to  give.  To-morrow  it  will 
be  published.  I  have  given  the  order,"  were  the  words  of 
Alexander  II.  to  his  new  consort  a  few  minutes  before  leav- 
ing the  Winter  Palace  on  the  morning  he  was  assassinated 
(Third  month  13th,  1881). 


320 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  EUSSIA. 


not  be  violated  forever  or  the  demands  of  justice 
eternally  ignored. 

The  Liberator  was  succeeded  by  the  Persecutor. 
The  Procurator  of  the  Holy  Synod,  C.  P.  Pobiedo- 
nostzev,  who  had  been  tutor  to  the  new  Tsar,  brought 
his  influence  to  bear,  and  the  Minister  of  the  Interior 
received  an  order  in  the  middle  of  the  night  coun- 
termanding the  publication  of  the  imperial  document 
(Manifesto),  upon  which  the  new  Tsar  had  pre^dously 
written,  "  Very  well  done." 

The  condition  of  the  Tsar's  mind  at  this  time  is 
graphically  set  forth  by  a  writer  of  the  period:  He 
was  as  bewildered  and  helpless  as  a  man  suddenly 
aroused  from  a  profound  slumber  by  a  murderous 
onslaught  of  robbers.  His  advisers  could  offer  him 
no  help.  They  hopelessly  contradicted  each  other 
and  themselves.  The  one  asked  for  a  constitution, 
another  advocated  status  quo;  his  own  brother 
pleaded  for  a  speedy  return  to  the  iron  rule  of  his 
grandfather  Xicholas. 

"  The  air  was  saturated  with  treason;  the  very 
palace  was  believed  to  harbor  an  imperial  protector 
of  assassins. 

"  The  Emperor  found  himself  face  to  face  with  an 
invisible  power  of  darkness,  with  no  one  to  stand  be- 
tween him  and  it,  or  to  stretch  out  a  helping  hand. 
To  crown  all,  he  had  no  motive  power  within  himself, 
no  stimulus  to  action,  no  goal  and  no  ideal. 

"  Xo  one  of  his  advisers  rose  to  the  level  of  the 
occasion,  not  one  had  faith  in  him,  much  less  in  his 


RUSSIAN  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 


321 


methods.  It  was  under  these  conditions  that  his 
teacher,  Pobiedonostzev,  on  being  called  to  the  Im- 
perial presence,  came  prepared  with  a  complete  sys- 
tem of  policy,  a  soothing  religion,  an  inspiring  faith 
and  a  glorious  ideal. 

"  He  played  to  perfection  the  part  of  Samuel  to 
the  Russian  monarch.  He  proclaimed  that  every- 
thing had  taken  place  in  accordance  vdila.  the  inscru- 
table will  of  God,  who  had  chosen  the  Tsar  as  His 
anointed  servant  to  lead  His  favorite  people  out  of 
the  wilderness  of  sin  and  misery. 

"  The  halcyon  days  of  Xicholas  1.  were  to  be 
brought  back  under  infinitely  more  favorable  condi- 
tions. Religion  was  to  be  reinstated  in  her  place,  and 
the  Lord  was  to  be  ruler  in  the  land;  in  a  word,  God 
was  God  and  the  Tsar  was  His  Prophet." 

Count  Ignatiev,  otherwise  called  the  "  Father  of 
Lies,''  became  Minister  of  the  Interior  upon  the  ac- 
cession of  Alexander  HI.,  and  such  a  chapter  of  Rus- 
sianization  began  as  was  scarcely  ever  attempted  be- 
fore by  any  Tsar. 

The  Emperor  never  attended  the  council  of  his 
ministers,  who  were  obliged  to  submit  to  him  person- 
ally every  measure  they  wished  to  enact. 

He  is  not  to  be  held  entirely  responsible  for  the 
persecutions  permitted  in  Russia,  as  they  generally 
originate  with  the  Holy  Synod. 

"  The  people  repose  implicit  confidence  in  the 
Tsar's  wisdom  and  justice.  He  is  absolute  master 
of  the  life  and  property  of  every  man  within  his  do- 


322 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IX  EUSSIA. 


minions,  and  no  exception  may  be  taken  to  his  or- 
ders. The  occasional  blunders  he  makes,  however 
heavy  they  may  be,  must  be  borne  with  patience,  as 
they  can  only  be  temporary.  The  Tsar  will  redress 
the  evil  as  soon  as  he  is  informed  on  the  matter." 

"  Russia  for  the  Russians  became  the  imperial 
policy  under  Alexander  III.,  and  so  he  attempted  to 
root  out  every  foreign  custom.  The  Finns  first  fell 
under  this  ban.  These  loyal,  prosperous  and  con- 
tented subjects  were  subjected  to  the  most  humili- 
ating denationalization. 

"  Their  postal  system,  far  superior  to  that  of  the 
Russian,  was  completely  remodeled;  Parliamentary 
privileges  were  rescinded,  although  the  latter  had 
been  solemnly  guaranteed  to  them  by  himself;  the 
press  in  the  principality  was  curtailed,  and  autonomy 
in  the  matter  pertaining  to  customs  duties  abolished; 
indeed,  the  whole  nation  was  treated  as  if  they  were 
rebels  on  the  eve  of  an  unsuccessful  rising." 

The  Germans  inhabiting  the  Baltic  Provinces, 
Esthonia,  Livonia  and  Courland,  next  received  atten- 
tion, because  of  the  "  most  affectionate  solicitude  of 
the  ruler  of  all  the  Russians."  Their  schools  were 
limited,  and  the  Russian  language  made  obligatory 
in  all  of  them;  in  short,  liberalism  and  sectarianism 
were  stamped  out.  The  Poles  were,  perhaps,  the 
chief  victims  of  this  pan-Sla^dsm.  Under  the  reigns 
of  the  Emperors  Xicholas  1.  and  Alexander  11.  they 
had  been  practically  dispossessed  of  their  property, 
and  in  many  cases  reduced  to  beggary.    They  were 


RUSSIAN  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 


323 


hanged  by  thousands,  because  of  their  faithfulness  to 
their  convictions. 

A  modern  writer  *  sums  up  the  domestic  policy  of 
Alexander  III.  thus:  Xaturallj  a  man  of  conserva- 
tive instincts,  and  driven  partly  by  circumstances, 
partly  by  irresponsibility,  into  illiberal  and  reaction- 
ary extremes,  Alexander  III.  has  for  some  time  de- 
voted himself  to  stamping  out  of  Eussia  all  non-Kus- 
sian  elements  and  setting  up  an  image,  before  which 
all  must  fall  down  and  worship,  of  a  Russia,  single, 
homogeneous,  exclusive,  self-sufficing,  self-contained. 
Foreign  names,  foreign  tongues,  a  foreign  faith,  par- 
ticularly if  the  former  are  Teuton,  and  the  latter  is 
Lutheran,  are  vexed,  or  prohibited,  or  assailed.  For- 
eign competition,  commercial  or  otherwise,  is  crushed 
by  heavy  dead  weights  hung  around  its  neck." 

One  of  the  most  unwise  acts  of  this  sovereign  was 
the  suppression  of  education,  that  bulwark  of  prog- 
ress. The  common  people  were  debarred  the  privi- 
lege of  universities  and  gymnasia,  and  in  many  in- 
stances even  of  parish  schools.  "  The  Govern- 
ment," says  E.  B.  Lanin,  "  is  resolved  to  reduce  the 
people  to  a  condition  of  abject  unreasoning  slavish- 
ness,  which  will  permit  them  to  be  dealt  with  like 
cattle.  If  the  nation  were  as  ready  to  dispose  of  its 
soul,  or  the  remnant  of  its  soul,  at  the  beck  of  its  one 
hundred  thousand  tsar-lets,  the  ideal  of  the  Russian 
government  might  be  considered  realized.    But  be- 


•  George  Curzon,  in  his  work,    Russia  in  Central  Asia." 


324 


THE  DOUKHOBOES  IX  RUSSIA. 


tween  them  and  this  goal  stand  a  few  million  Ras- 
kolniksy  on  whose  victory  or  defeat  depends  the  fu- 
ture of  the  Russian  government/' 

The  press  was  suppressed  with  even  more  viru- 
lence by  this  Tsar  pan-Slavist,  who  considered  the 
tendering  of  journalistic  advice  a  menace  to  his  im- 
perial rights. 

"  There  was  silence  in  all  languages  from  the  Ural 
to  the  Prut/'  could  as  truly  be  said  in  his  reign  as  in 
the  reign  of  his  grandfather,  Xicholas  I. 

"  The  nation  was  virtually  dumb,  for  it  had  no  sort 
of  parliamentary  representation,  and  no  press  worth 
the  name." — (Lowe.) 

It  is  almost  inconceivable  that  in  the  last  decade 
of  the  nineteenth  century  such  a  benighted  policy 
could  be  carried  on  by  the  most  powerful  monarch 
in  Europe.  "  l^o  epoch  or  country  has  ever  yet  of- 
fered so  disgraceful  a  spectacle  of  systematic  demor- 
alization/' is  the  testimony  of  one  who  knew  whereof 
he  wrote.  Yet  there  were  minds  who  could  not  be 
silenced,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  more  heroic  instance 
of  true  patriotism  than  that  of  Mary  Tzebrikova, 
"  after  she  resolved  to  address  the  Tsar  on  behalf  of 
her  fellow  countrymen,  in  spite  of  every  custom  or 
law,  which  made  such  an  act  penal  in  the  highest 
degree." 

She  was  an  accomplished  lady  in  her  fifty-fourth 
year,  when  she  wrote  to  ''his  Majesty"  as  follows: 
"  And  after  all,  what  is  the  use  of  all  this  oppression 


RUSSIAN  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 


325 


and  persecution?  Why  should  free  speech  be  sup- 
pressed and  public  justice  abolished  ? 

Is  it  for  the  sake  of  peaceful  development,  or  is 
it  for  the  sake  of  autocracy;  that  is,  really  for  the 
advantage  of  the  officials  ? 

"  Your  Majesty's  seK  is  proved  powerless  to  strug- 
gle against  abuses,  even  if  the  court  for  judging  of 
ministers  should  be  really  instituted.  You  are  in- 
evitably powerless,  because  all  the  imperial  measures 
are  founded  upon  the  same  slavery  and  enforced  si- 
lence of  society. 

"  Freedom  of  speech,  personal  security,  freedom 
of  meetings,  full  publicity  of  justice,  education  easy 
of  access  to  all  talents,  suppression  of  administrative 
despotism,  the  convoking  of  a  national  assembly,  for 
which  all  classes  can  choose  their  delegates — in  these 
alone  is  our  salvation." 

She  subscribed  herself,  after  saying:  "You  are 
one  of  the  most  powerful  monarchs  in  the  world;  and 
I  am  a  working  unit  in  the  one  hundred  millions 
whose  fate  you  hold  in  your  hands;  but  none  the  less, 
I,  in  my  conscience,  fully  recognize  my  moral  right 
and  duty  as  a  Russian  woman  to  say  what  I  have 
said." 

And  what  effect  did  such  an  appeal  have  upon 
Alexander  III.  After  reading  it,  he  simply  ex- 
claimed :  "  That  is  all  very  well,  but  what  on  the 
earth  does  all  this  matter  to  her  ?  " 

The  letter  was  printed,  however,  and  of  course  she 


326 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


was  duly  exiled  for  two  years  to  "  a  remote  corner  of 
the  empire.'' 

I  have  gone  into  some  details  concerning  this 
period  in  order  to  place  before  the  reader  an  ade- 
quate picture  of  the  present  conditions,  both  civil 
and  social,  which  confront  the  dissenters,  whether 
peace-loving  or  otherwise  disposed,  in  this  unhappy 
land. 

The  awful  famine  of  1890-'91  had  brought  twenty 
millions  of  the  inhabitants  to  death's  door,  through- 
out a  district  three  thousand  miles  long  and  from  five 
hundred  to  one  thousand  miles  wide.  The  general 
distress,  added  to  the  effort  to  root  out  all  races  and 
religions  other  than  pure  ones  "  of  ancient  and  holy 
Russia,"  was  enough  to  bring  grief  to  the  strongest 
and  most  hopeful. 

We  will  not  pass  away,  however,  from  this  sad 
condition  without  first  expressing  a  word  of  sympa- 
thy for  this  ill-advised  ruler,  who  must  have  had  a 
most  unenviable  life,  haunted  continually  with  fear 
of  meeting  the  same  horrible  fate  as  that  of  his  own 
father.  Think  of  him  standing  out  on  the  desolate 
steppe,  surrounded  by  those  who  had  been  killed  at 
his  side ;  the  car  he  and  his  family  occupied  being  ter- 
ribly wrecked,  his  wife  trembling  as  she  moved 
among  the  dead  and  dying,  and  his  little  girl  with  her 
arms  about  his  neck,  exclaiming,  "  Oh,  papa,  now 
they'll  come  and  murder  us  all !  "  And  surely  the 
situation  would  not  fail  to  draw  from  the  most  stolid 
a  sigh  of  pity. 


RUSSIAN  POLITICAL  HISTOEY. 


327 


The  Emperor  died  at  Livadia  on  the  first  of  Elev- 
enth month,  1894,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Nicholas  II.,  as  autocrat  of  all  the  Russias,  whose 
name  will  go  down  to  posterity  inseparably  connected 
with  the  greatest  international  event  of  the  nine- 
teenth century — the  convening  of  the  Peace  Confer- 
ence, at  The  Hague,  during  the  summer  of  1899. 

This  young  ruler  of  one  hundred  million  subjects 
seemed  to  give  promise  of  a  more  enlightened  policy 
than  his  father  pursued,  although  he  has  been  sadly 
handicapped  by  his  ministers  and  his  devotion  to  his 
father's  memory.  "  As  a  child  he  was  thoroughly 
conscientious,  possessed  of  a  wonderfully  receptive 
mind,  an  excellent  memory,  sound  judgment  and 
great  common  sense." 

His  mother  has  much  influence  with  him,  and  she 
took  a  great  interest  in  his  education.  It  was  she 
who  prevailed  with  him  to  grant  the  liberation  of 
the  Doukhobors. 

He  is  most  amiable  in  manner  and  generous  in 
spirit,  and  if  it  were  not  for  such  advisers  as  Pobiedo- 
nostzev,  doubtless  his  sorely  persecuted  subjects 
would  receive  greater  evidence  of  these  qualities. 

He  traveled  around  the  world  in  1890-'91,  and 
narrowly  escaped  assassination  in  Japan.  His  mar- 
riage to  Princess  Alix,  granddaughter  of  Queen  Vic- 
toria, took  place  shortly  after  his  father's  death. 

From  these  chapters  we  can  see  there  is  a  dual  sys- 
tem of  government  existing  in  Russia.  The  Mir,  in- 
stituted for  the  exclusive  benefit  of  the  peasants,  is 


328 


THE  DOUKHOBORS  IN  RUSSIA. 


founded  upon  custom,  while  the  district  and  provin- 
cial assemblies,  to  which  the  volosts  appoint  dele- 
gates, represent  written  law  and  the  higher  classes. 

The  democratic  instincts  of  the  peasants  continu- 
ally come  into  conflict  with  the  autocratic  rule  of 
these  elective  assemblies — to  say  nothing  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Commission  appointed  by  the  Tsar  to  exercise 
an  over-lordship — so  we  can  easily  account  for  the 
perpetual  unrest  which  has  perennially  threatened 
the  empire  with  revolution,  apart  from  any  religious 
dissent.  And  when  we  add  to  this  the  independent 
attitude  of  Christian  faith,  assumed  by  the  Doukho- 
bors,  we  can  clearly  see  how  nothing  but  persecution 
awaited  them. 


IXDEX. 


Abramov,  T.,  on  the  assimilation  of  religious  ideas,  242; 

on  removal  of  Doukhobors  to  the  Caucasus,  262-264 

Alexander  I.,  Emperor  of  Russia,  favors  the  Doukhobors, 
245;  visits  the  "Milky  Waters"  settlement,  248; 
visits  Friends'  meeting  in  London,  250;  sends  to  Eng- 
land for  a  Friend  to  reclaim  bog  lands,  252;  follows 

policy  of  the  Empress  Catharine,   315 

Alexander  II.,  Emperor  of  Russia,   317-319 

Alexander  III.,  Emperor  of  Russia,   319-327 

Alexei  Michailovich,  Tsar  of  Russia,  orders  a  revision  of 

the  Bible,   286 

Allen,  M.  A.,  Marriage,  on  the  Doukhobors  in  Cyprus,  200, 201 
Allen,  William,  57,  197,  242;  meets  Emperor  Alexander  I., 

250,  251;  visits  Doukhobors  in  the  Crimea,   253 

Almanovsky,  Ignaee,  221 ;  addresses  Doukhobor  immigrants,  192 

Appeals  of  the  Doukhobors  for  help,   228,231 

Archangel,  Peter  Verigin  banished  to,    147 

Archbishop  Gabriel,  of  St.  Petersburg,  report  of,  on  the 

Doukhobors,   268-270 

Archer,  Herbert  P.,   70,232 

Archimandrite  Innokenty,  dialogue  between  three  Douk- 
hobors and,  270-279 

Ashworth,  John,   11,227 

Bailey,  William  L.,    126 

Baker,  Nellie,  educational  service  of,  82-85,221 

Barcroft,  Joseph,    11 

Bartlett,  Jane  W.,    10 

Bath-houses,  Doukhobor,   63 

Batoum,  party  of  Doukhobors  sails  from,  to  Cyprus,  172; 
first  shipload  of  Doukhobors  sails  from,  to  America, 

185;  second  shipload  sails,    187 

Beasts  of  burden,  liberated  by  some  Doukhobors,  18;  use 

of  held  to  be  unscriptural,   18,  50 

Beliefs  of  the  Doukhobors,  279-284 

Bellows,  Hannah,    85 

Bellows,  John,   11,181,184,295,298 

Bellows,  William,   11,201 

Benson,  Jane,  "  Quaker  Pioneers  in  Russia,"   250 

"Bernard,  Lally  "  (May  Fitz-Gibbon),  on  educational  work 
among  the  Doukhobors,  84;  on  the  Doukhobor  women 
as  pioneers,  99;  on  the  insufficiency  of  modern  ideas 
of  education,  97;  on  the  Doukhobor  women  drawing 
the  plough,  101;  advocates  cause  of  Doukhobors,  227; 

on  Anna  de  Carousa,    230 

Besant,  Annie,  on  need  of  moral  earnestness,   93 

Bible,  need  of  accurate  knowledge  of,  to  the  Doukhobors,  88 
Bible  Society,  British,  sends  Bibles  to  the  Doukhobors, 

266;  receiv^es  letter  of  thanks,   267 

Binscarth,    21 

Births  and  deaths,  registration  of,   119 


330 


Index, 


Birukov,  P.,  on  the  Doukhobors,   10, 135 

Bodyansky,  A.,   114,  132, 137,  2^9 

Bogolubsky,  Andrei,    310 

Boyle,  Nurse,    34 

Boynikov,  Ivan,    215 

Brooks,  Edmund  W.,    185 

Buchanan,  Robert  and  Elizabeth,   49,89,227 

Bulmer,  J.  T.,  welcomes  the  Doukhobors,    192 

Burning  of  arms  by  the  Doukhobors,   151-155 

California,  Doukhobors  prospecting  in,   232 

Catharine  II.,  Empress  of  Russia,    314 

Caucasus,  divisions  of,  316;  removal  of  the  Doukhobors 

to  the,  in  1842,  53,256 

Ceremonial  of  the  Greek  Church  fascinating  to  the  Slavs,  241 

Children,  good  behavior  of  the  Doukhobor,    92 

Choodyakov,  Savili  Feodorevitch,    45 

Christian  Herald,  on  educational  work  of  Nellie  Baker,  82-85 

Circassians,   54 

Cleighills,  General,    306 

Collections  in  aid  of  the  persecuted  Doukhobors,  160;  in 

aid  of  emigration,    171 

Comfort,  George  M.,    126 

Communal  System,  P.  Kropotkin  on  the,    113 

Communism  a  religious  principle  with  the  Doukhobors..  .  147 
Conference  of  representatives  from  the  Yorkton  and  Swan 

River  colonies,    Ill 

Constantine  Paulovitch,  Grand  Duke,    305 

Cossacks  quartered  on  Doukhobor  villages,   156 

Cost  of  living,  low,  among  Doukhobors    219 

Credit  of  the  Doukhobors,    108 

Crerar,  James  S.,  70,226 

Crimean  War,  Ivan  Mahortov  in,   58-61 

Cruelty,  alleged,  of  Doukhobor  men  to  women,  denied,. . . .  216 

Cyprus,  climate  of,  unsuited  to  Doukhobors,    200 

Cyprus,  Doukhobor  settlers  in,  removed  to  Canada,  201 

Cyprus,  emigration  to,    172 

Cyprus  fever,    105 

Daily  Star  (Montreal),  on  the  Doukhobor's  gratitude,..  193 

Danube,  Doukhobors  petition  for  settlement  on,    246 

Debate  on  the  Doukhobors,  in  the  Dominion  House  of 

Commons,    210 

De  Carousa,  Anna,   220,230 

Dialogue  between  three  Doukhobors  and  the  Archiman- 
drite Innokenty,  1792,   270-279 

Diekericks,  T.,    56 

Djunkolesky,  General,    242 

Doukhobor  children,  politeness  of,   193 

Doukhobor  Committee  of  London  Yearly  Meeting,    35 

Doukhobor,  origin  of  the  name,    4 

Doukhobor  worship,  Stephen  Grellet  on,   254,255 


Index. 


331 


Elizavetpol,    145 

Elkinton,  Joseph  S.,  ...  .17,  53,  104,  126,  188,  191,  194,  195,  197 
Elkintoii;  Joseph  S.,  denies  charges  that  Doukhobor  men 

are  cruel  to  the  women,   202,206,209,216,227,236 

Embroidery  of  the  DoukholDor  women,    103 

Emigration  of  the  Doukhobors  from  Russia  permitted,...  171 

Empress  Alexandra,  letter  of  Peter  Verigin  to,   166 

English  language,  desire  of  the  Doukhobors  to  learn,  ....  81 

Exiles  in  Siberia,  215,  223,  224:  families  of,  64-66 

Exiles  in  Yakoutsk,    198 

Evans.  Captain,  on  the  Doukhobors,    192 

Evans;  William,   126,203,204,206,207,209 

Factional  division  among  the  Doukhobors,   147 

Farm  machinery,  improved,  purchased  by  Doukhobors,  . . .  108 
Fever,  Cyprus  or  malarial,  among  the  Doukhobors,. ..  .105,202 

Filiberte,  Madame,    261 

First  shipload  of  Doukhobors  sails  from  Batoum,   185 

Fiske,  John,  on  religious  persecution,    142 

Formalism,  protest  against,  ever  recurring  in  Russian  his- 
tory,   241 

Foxwarren,  25,26 

Friend,  The  (Philadelphia),  on  arrival  of  Doukhobors,   196 

Fruit,  Doukhobors'  need  of,   44,234 

Gabriel,  Archbishop,  of  St.  Petersburg,  report  of,  on  the 

Doukhobors,   268-270 

Galician  settlers  in  Canada,  poverty  and  ignorance  of,  67,68 

Ghengis  Khan,   311 

Gidley,  Job  S.,   188,190,194,219-221,224 

Ginseng  root,  Doukhobor  women  digging,   51 

Gladstone  on  Emperor  Alexander  II.,    318 

Good  Spirit  Lake,  colony  on,  47,82,85,89 

Gorelofka,   45 

Government  schools,  the  Doukhobors'  suspicion  of,   77 

Grellet,  Stephen,   57,  197,242,251,253-255 

Halifax,  Doukhobors  arrive  at,   189 

Harvev,  William  B.,    227 

Hilkov,  Prince  D.  A.,  186,  194,  197,  203,  206,  209;  takes  two 
Doukhobor  pioneers  to  Cyprus,  171;  visits  Canada, 
173;  leaves  the  Russian  army,  173-175;  his  children 

taken  from  him,  175;  boards  the  Lake  Euron,    191 

Homestead  laws,  Canadian,    212 

Hospitality  of  the  Doukhobors,    52 

House  of  Commons,  Canadian,  debate  in,  on  Doukhobors,  210 
Houses  of  the  Doukhobors,  how  constructed,  57,  99-101, 

218,  219,  222,  223,  232. 
Huss,  John,  Doukhobors  said  to  be  descended  from  fol- 
lowers of,    242 

Hutchinson,  Alfred,  and  w3e,    227 


332 


Index. 


Ignatiev,  Count,    321 

Immigration  Hall  in  Winnipeg,   31 

Innokenty,  Archimandrite,  dialogue  between  three  Douk- 

hobors  and,   270-279 

Ivan,  Ewan,   69 

Ivan  the  Terrible,  311,  312 

Jansen,  Cornelius,    227 

Jansen,  Peter,   208 

Jesus,  second  coming  of,  expected,   18 

Kalmykov,  .   146 

Kalmykova,  Loukerya  Vasilyevna.   146,  147 

Kapoustin,    146 

Kars,    145 

Kars,  Doukhobors  from,  arrive  at  Quebec,  203;  letter 

from,  to  Friends,    209 

Kiev,  sacked  by  Andrei  Bogolubsky  in  1169,  and  by  Ghen- 

gis  Khan  in  1240,  310,311 

Konkin,  Vassili,   22 

Kovalevsky,  "  Russian  Political  Institutions,"   13 

Kropotkin,  P.,  on  the  communal  system,   113 

Lalie  Huron,  Doukhobor  emigrant  ship,  arrives  at  Halifax,  189 
Lake  Superior  arrives  at  Halifax,  195;  brings  survivors 

from  Cyprus,    201 

Laktev,  Katrina,  persecuted,    244 

Lands  assigned  to  the  Doukhobors,    212 

Lanskoi,  Minister,    258 

Lapukhin,  Senator,  on  persecutions  of  Doukhobors,  .  .243,  245 

"  Large  Party  "  faction  of  the  Doukhobors,    147 

Leaders  of  the  Doukhobors,    146 

Lebedeov,  Matthew,  refuses  military  service,  149,  150 

Leonhardt,  Frederick,   48,  230 

Lieven,  Count,    250 

London  Yearly  Meeting,  appeal  of,  for  help  for  the  Douk- 

hobor  emigration,    178 

London  Yearly  Meeting,  Doukhobor  Committee  of,   35 

Loom,  "Communal,"    104 

McCreary,  William  F.,  commissioner  of  immigration,. .  .62,226 

Mahortov,  Ivan,   33,57-61,111,253 

Manitoba  Free  Press  on  the  decline  of  "  pilgrimage " 

craze,  28;  on  the  arrival  of  Peter  Verigin,  68-76,  131 

Manual  dexterity  of  the  Doukhobors,   95 

Marriage  and  divorce,    117 

Marriage  scarf,   45 

Marriages  of  Doukhobors  on  shipboard,    194 

Matrossov,  Simeon,  refuses  oath,   246 

Maude,  Aylraer,  "Tolstoi  and  His  Problems,"  11;  on  the 
martyr  spirit  of  the  Doukhobors,  85;  on  the  good  be- 
havior of  Doukhobor  children,  91 ;  letter  of  to  the 
Doukhobors,  120;  on  the  creditable  history  of  the 


Index. 


338 


Doukhobors,  146;  negotiations  \dth  Canadian  Gov- 
ernment, 173,  182;  on  the  "Milky  Waters"  settle- 
ment, 265;  on  Doukliobor  belief,   279 

Mavor,  Prof.  James,   182,  185 

Mennonites,  35;  Mennonite  Reserve,    42 

Mercer,  Dr.,    208 

"Milky  Waters"  colony,   6,53,245-249 

Millwood,   19 

Minnedosa  "  pilgrims  "  arrive  at,    18 

Mir,  the,    112 

Misrepresentations  concerning  the  Doukhobors,    17 

Moffatt,   ,  acting  commissioner,    70 

Mohammedans,  influence  of  the  Doukhobors  on  the,  ....  263 

Molokans,   33 

Montanists,  the.  Backhouse  and  Tyler  on,    5 

Montreal  Weekly  Witness,  The,  on  fanaticism  among  Douk- 
hobors,   27 

Montreal  Witness,  on  the  Doukhobors,   190 

Morland,  Helen,  educational  work  of,    85 

Morning  Chronicle  (Halifax),  on  the  arrival  of  the  Douk- 
hobors,   191 

Morris,  Samuel,    126 

Mosquitoes,   49,51 

Nature,  Doukhobors  appreciative  of,   88 

Nature  worship  of  the  early  Russians,   239 

Neave,  Joseph  J.,   295-298 

Needlework  of  the  Doukhobor  women   103 

Nicholas  I.,  Emperor  of  Russia,   53,257,261,315 

Nicholas  II.,  Emperor  of  Russia,   327,328 

Nikon,  Patriarch,  revises  the  text  of  the  Russian  Bible,. .  286 

Noble,  Edmund,  "  Russia  and  the  Russians,"   13 

North  colony,  location  of,    47 

Novitsky,  Orest,  266,  279,  281;  "History  of  the  Doukho- 
bors," 10;  on  government  of  Doukhobor  leaders,   146 

Nurses,  Russian,  among  the  Doukhobors,    220 

Oldenburg,  Duke  of,    250 

Onishenko,   292 

Osburn,  Rose  M.,    221 

Ovens,  Doukhobor,   44,45,205,219,223 

Overconscientiousness  of  the  Doukhobors  a  psychological 

problem,   50 

Patriarchal  authority  among  the  earlv  Russians,   239 

Paul  the  Mad,   314 

Pauperism,  unfounded  charges  of,  against  Doukhobors,.  .  98 

Pedley,  Frank,  superintendent  of  emigration,    18 

Persecutions  in  the  Caucasus,    39 

Persecutions  of  Doukhobors,  Senator  Lapukhin  on,    243 

Peter  the  Great,   313,314 

Petition  of  Yorkton  Doukhobors  to  the  Canadian  Gov- 
ernment,   115 


334 


Index, 


Petrofka,  35;  Petrofka  Ferry,   36 

Philadelphia,  Friends  of,  appeal  for  help  to  the  Doukho- 

bors,  224;  forward  supplies,    230 

Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting,  address  to  the  Doukhobors, 

120;  epistle  of  encouragement,    232 

Pilgrimage  "  in  search  of  Jesus,"    18 

Pinkerton,  Pvobert,  visit  of,  to  the  Doukhobors,  266,267 

Planidin,  Paul,    69 

Ploughing  with  women  instead  of  horses,  101,215 

Pobiedonostzev,   Constantine,   Procurator   of   the  Holy 

Synod,   294,308,320 

Pobirohin,   146 

Podovinnikov,  Anna,   57,62,70 

Podovinnikov,  Ivan,    63 

Politeness  of  the  Doukhobors,    109 

Ponomarev,  M.,  on  primary  schools  in  Russia,    86 

Popov,  Simeon  Nicolavevitch,    44 

Poterpevshe,  \  48-66,111,112 

Poverty  of  the  Doukhobors  on  arrival  in  Canada,   98 

"  Prophet,"  self-styled,  teachings  of  a,  among  the  Douk- 
hobors,   17 

Prosperity,  beginnings  of,    108 

Psychological  problem,  overconscientiousness  of  the  Douk- 
hobors, a,    50 

"Quaker  Pioneers  in  Russia,"  by  Jane  Benson,  13;  ex- 
tract from,   250 

Quarantine,  Doukhobor  emigrants  detained  in,   195,203 

Quartering  of  Cossacks  on  Doukhobor  villages,   156 

Quebec,  Cyprus  Doukhobors  arrive  at;,  202;  Kara  Doukho- 
bors arrive,    203 

Railroads,  work  upon,  sought  by  Doukhobors,  ....  48, 228,  232 
Registration  of  homesteads,  116;  of  births  and  deaths,  .  .  110 

Reid,  Dr.  J.  T.,  on  the  Doukhobors,   27 

Religious  awakening  among  the  Doukhobors,    148 

Renaissance,  Russia  unaffected  by,    241 

Reply  of  the  Canadian  authorities  to  the  petition  of  the 

Yorkton  Doukhobors,    127 

Response  of  the  Doukhobors  to  epistle  of  encouragement 

from  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting,    233 

Revision  of  the  Russian  Bible,  ordered  by  the  Tsar  Alexei 

Michailovich,    286 

Rhoads,  Jonathan  E.,   104,126,236 

Rickman,  Nathaniel  and  wife,   251 

Rieben,  Simeon,    69 

Robitz,  Maria,    220 

Rosthern,    34 

Russell,  Elbert,  on  the  early  Christians,   3 

"Russia  and  the  Russians,^  Edmund  Noble,    13 

"Russian  Political  Institutions,"  Kovalevsky,    13 


Index. 


335 


Saskatchewan  Doiikhobors,  not  affected  by  fanaticism,. .  18 

Satz,  Sasha,   220 

Saunders,  Dr.  William,  on  the  Doukhobors,   218 

"  Sawmill,"  Doukhobor,    62 

Schamyl,  Prophet-Chief  of  the  Caucasus,   310 

Schism*  in  the  Russian  Church,   286-291 

School  house  built  by  Philadelphia  Friends,   42 

School  tax,  Doukhobor's  horse  seized  because  of  refusal  to 

pay,   78 

Schools,  primary,  in  Russia,    80 

Scripture,  quotations  from,  familiar  to  Doukhobors  from 

oral  instruction,  88 ;  perverted  interpretations  of, ...  .  89 

Scurvy,   105,234 

Second  shipload  of  Doukhobors  sails  from  Batoum,   187 

Sergius  Alexandrovitch,  Grand  Duke,    305 

Sergius,  Bishop,    294 

Servants,  faithfulness  of  the  Doukhobors  as,   49 

"  Settlers'  effects,"  law  concerning,    213 

Sevastopol,  naval  battle  off,   58,59 

Shalayev,  Na stasia,  persecuted,   244 

Sharp,  Isaac,    181 

Sherbinin,  Michael,   34,35,39,42,48,53,07 

Siberian  exiles.  Friends  asked  to  intercede  for,  ..207,208,224 

Sloughs,  mud,  in  the  prairie  trails,   38,48,50,51,52 

"  Small  Party,"  faction  of  the  Doukhobors,   147 

Small-pox  on  the  Lake  Superior,   195 

Smart,  James  A.,  189,191 

Smith,  Ephraim,    120 

Smith,  J.  Obed,  Commissioner  of  Immigration,   31,62 

Soulerjitzky,  Leopold,   195, 197, 202 

South  Colony,  location  of,   47 

Spiers,  Charles  W.,  colonization  agent,  18;  on  the  return 

of  the  "pilgrims,"    28 

Stchirov,  Michael,    268 

Steam  bath,  Doukhobor,    64 

Stundists,  the   292-295 

Sturge,  Wilson,   185,201,202 

St.  John,  Arthur,  visits  Russia  and  Cyprus  in  aid  of  Douk- 
hobors, 100;  assists  emigration  from  Cyprus,   201 

St.  John,  N.  B.,  Doukhobors  arrive  at,   192 

Suharev,  Ainkie  and  Timothy,   208 

*•  Sunrise  service,"   32,201 

Surrey,  "  Grandmother  "  Verigin's,    65 

Suriiff,  J.  G.,   130 

Taylor,  Captain,  of  the  Lake  Superior,   202 

Tchertkov,  V.,  10,  182,  183;   "Christian  Martyrdom  in 

Russia,"  10;  helped  to  raise  emigration  fund,   171 

Thanks  of  the  Doukhobors  to  their  benefactors,   234 

Thunder  Hill,  Doukhobor  colonv  at,    218 

Tiflis,   :   145 


336 


Index. 


Times,  The  (London),  letfer  in,  on  the  factional  division 

among  the  Doukhobors,   148 

Tolstaev,  Andrei,  and  wife,  persecuted,   243 

Tolstoi,  Count  Leo,  8,  7G,  259,  263;  letter  to  The  (London) 
Times,  148;  appeal  of,  for  help  for  the  Doukhobor 

emigration,   177 

Tolstoi,  Count  Sergius,    195 

Transcaucasia,  Doukhobor  settlements  in,    145 

"True  Inspiration  Society,"    66 

Turanian  prayer,  a,    240 

Tzebrikova,  Mary,   324,325 

Vaccination  of  Doukhobors,    42 

Vajm«v,  Eliza  A.,  conducts  a  dispensary  among  the  Douk- 

ho'bors,   82,84,219-224 

Varyag,  Rurik  and  Oleg,   309 

Vereschagin,  Vassili,   42 

Verigin,  Anastasia  ("Grandmother"),  48,53,54,55,56,57,235 

Verigin,  Gregory,  55,56 

Verigin,  Peter,  7,  II,  55,  56,  146,  235;  arrival  in  Canada, 
68-76,  131;  on  primary  education,  77;  banished  to 
Archangel  and  Siberia,  147-149;  advises  refusal  of 
oaths  and  military  service,  149;  letter  of  to  the  Em- 
press Alexandra,  166;  letter  from,    223 

Verigin,  Peter,  the  younger,    32 

Victoria,  Queen,  on  Nicholas  L,    317 

AHadimir,    Prince,    introduces    Greek    Christianity  into 

Russia,   240 

Vorontzov,  Prince,   261 

Wallace,  D.  M.,  "Russia,"  13;  on  the  power  of  the  Mir 

over  its  members,   301-304 

Weaving  and  spinning  among  the  Doukhobors,    103 

Welistchkina,  Vera,    220 

"Wet  Mountains"  of  the  Caucasus,   54,145 

Wheeler,  Daniel,  work  of,  in  reclaiming  bog  lands  near  St. 

Petersburg,   252 

White  Sand  River,    53 

Wilkinson,  John,    251 

Women,  Doukhobor,  common  sense  of  the,   63,90 

Women,  Doukhobor.  multifarious  duties  of,  ..102-105,217,223 

Women  of  Canada  provide  for  arriving  Doukhobors,   193 

Women's  Council,  of  Montreal,  gifts  of  to  Doukhobor  chil- 
dren, 214;  sends  supplies  for  Doukhobors,    229 

Wo7'ld,  The  (New  York),  account  of  the  "pilgrimage,"...  19 
Wurtemburg,  King  of,    250 

Yorkton  and  Swan  River  colonies,  conference  of  represen- 
tatives from,    Ill 

Yorkton,  Doukhobor  colonies  at,    17 

Zherebtzov,  Chamberlain,    248 


Date  Due 



^  

*r  it 


•>  t    fs      .  ; 


